Re: "Waterside" is meaningless

On Dec 14, 5:48 am, Algis <algiskuliu...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Dec 14, 2:13 pm, Claudius Denk <claudiusd...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

So Marc, please stop blabbering on about "waterside" as if it carried
any meaning.  It doesn't.  No serious scientist disputes the general
notion that--having evolved from apes that are associated with well-
watered rainforest habitat--early hominids must have continued to
reside at locations that were well watered and/or within one hours
walking distance of water (usually if not always).

[...]
Therefore if our lineage
lived in waterside habitats more than the chimps and gorillas they
would have moved through them more often.

Prove it.

If they moved through them
more often more of them would have drowned. If more of them were
exposed to the risk of drowning, because every population includes
variation withing the gene pool, some selection would have occured. If
any selection occured to reduce the risk of drowning, as long as these
traits did not decrease fitness in other ways, then they would be
bound to reach fixation very quickly.

Based on your faulty premise, your conclusions are worthless.
BTW, what would these "traits" be, again? And where is the
"selection" (I believe that was the question your reviewers couldn't
get you to answer...) you keep referring to? How is it that
wildebeests drown by the thousands on their annual migrations
yet none of the survivors have developed [say] bipedalism or
valgus knees? I know you'll be wanting to clear that up.

I just picked up Carl Zimmers' "Smithsonian Intimate Guide
to Human Origins". Nice book. A bit juvenile being aimed
at a general audience but I think it might be right up your alley.
He starts out with Sahelanthropus and goes right through
to modern Homo covering all the high points and established
facts. Chapters include "The Walk Begins", "The Toolmakers",
"Becoming Human", "Sapiens", etc etc. Funny, water wasn't
included in any of it. I suppose Carl Zimmer is a complete
idiot though, huh?

It's not "well-watered rainforests" that is being suggested though -
it's gallery forests, subject to seasonal rainfall, swamps and,
finally with the genus Homo, the coasts.

Algis Kuliukas

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: "Waterside" is meaningless
    ... watered rainforest habitat--early hominids must have continued to ... It should be noted that this is the first time you mentioned drowning ... some selection would have occured. ... Dimwitted anecdotal nonsense. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: "Waterside" is meaningless
    ... watered rainforest habitat--early hominids must have continued to ... It has very precise meaning. ... It should be noted that this is the first time you mentioned drowning ... some selection would have occured. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: "Waterside" is meaningless
    ... watered rainforest habitat--early hominids must have continued to ... It has very precise meaning. ... some selection would have occured. ... any selection occured to reduce the risk of drowning, ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
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