Re: The Aquatic Ape Theory

>>>The first part of a radio program...
>>>http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/shows/rpms/radio4/scarsofevolution.ram
>>>Stacey Bender

>> Thanks, Stacey. "Narrated by David Attenborough telling the story of the
>> bumpy ride the Aquatic Ape Theory has had through the scientific
>> establishment. The program is in two parts, the second part which airs
>> next week on Tuesday at 11GMT proports to have new evidence that lends
>> weight to the AAT." Even without this new evidence, the anatomical,
>> physiological & behavioural arguments are inevitable IMO. All we need is
>> that the diaspora of Plio-Pleistocene Homo happened along the coasts &
>> inland along the rivers. And how else would it have happened?
>> Unfortunately, the term "aquatic ape" is a misnomer IMO: It's not about
>> apes, not even about australopiths, but only about Homo. And it's not
>> about having been aquatic, but about having been littoral. For new
>> insights & discussions of AAT, please visit
>> http://www.onelist.com/community/AAT Marc Verhaegen

> So it's non-aquatic, non-ape and non-theory? What's left?

"Aquatic ape theory" is not wrong, but some simple minds get curious ideas
when they hear "aquatic ape". AAT is about human ancestors having been
littoral (not about apes or apiths), and it's the *only* theory explaining
why humans are so different from chimps. It says that some time after Homo &
Pan had split 6-4 Ma, Homo populations became seaside omnivores who
collected coconuts, fruits, shell- & crayfish, turtles, bird eggs, algae...
This explains many typically Homo traits (absent in apes & australopiths)
better than savanna scenarios do: brain enlargement, breathing control &
diving skills, improved vocality, small mouth, smooth & vaulted palate,
closed tooth row, smaller front teeth & reduced masticatory muscles, reduced
sense of smell, improved handiness & tool use, very long legs & aligned body
build, plantigrade feet, reduced climbing, subcutaneous fat, loss of fur,
late puberty, high needs of water, iodine, sodium & poly-unsaturated fatty
acids... This waterside episode might be identical to the Plio-Pleistocene
diaspora of Homo along the Indian Ocean & African coasts (1.8-Ma-old Homo
fossils or tools come from Algeria, Iran, Kenya, Georgia, Java... always
near large bodies of water): in spite of sea level changes (Ice Ages), Homo
(but not australopith) remains have frequently been found amid shells,
corals & barnacles, from 1.8 to 0.1 Ma, ie, throughout the Pleistocene, in
coasts all over the Old World (Mojokerto, Terra Amata, Table Bay,
Eritrea...), even on islands that could only be reached by sea (Flores 0.8
Ma http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~mvaneech/outthere.htm ).

Marc Verhaegen

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

AAT = Homo littoral diaspora

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






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