Re: Is the AAH a legitimate hypothesis? Of course it is.

From: Marc Verhaegen (fa204466_at_skynet.be)
Date: 01/23/05 

Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 10:04:47 +0100

"Hugh Gibbons" <party@my.house.com> wrote in message
news:party-5AD4A9.22531722012005@news-fe-03.texas.rr.com...

>> Nose lengthening in hominids is only seen in Homo (<2 Ma): could have
>> been useful in surface swimming, dipping, underwater swimming, juming
>> into the water... Obvious. Only blind fanatics can't accept this
>> possibility.

> I don't see the rationale for it. How does my having a long nose make me
> a better swimmer, dipper or jumper-into-water?

Well, we know archaic Homo evolved an ext.nose, unlike apes, apiths &
habilis (RG Franciscus & E Trinkaus 1988 "Nasal morphology and the emergence
of Homo erectus" AJPA 75:517-527). The problem is now: is this ext.nose
compatible with a seaside dispersal of Homo? Yes, why not? See below. Are
there alternative land-based possibilities? I don't see any. Do you, Hugh?
- dipping: see nasal passage (inverted U) in human vs chimp nose (eg, Aiella
& Dean 1990 fig.13.11 p.240)
- swimmer: nostrils underneath nose, nasal "triangle" deviates water flow
- jumping into water head first: idem
- jumping feet first: many people close the nose between index & thumb
- floating on back: nose tip further above water level
I don't even have to argue that all these swimming postures were adopted by
our ancestors once. 1 is enough. And the fact alone of airway lengthening is
to be expected more in a semi-aquatic life than in, say, a savanna
lifestyle.

> Given that my nose is on the front of my face, which is pointed down when
> a human swims, having it longer only puts it deeper in the water. No help
> there.

I don't follow what you want to say. Of course the pointed-down nose
protects the airways from water coming in, don't you think??

Marc Verhaegen

http://www.onelist.com/community/AAT

http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~mvaneech/Verhaegen.html

'Truth is the intersection of independent lines'--R.Levins 1966

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