Earth Sciences Forum

scpg02 · Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 221 Location: Sacramento

Contact: Aaron Filler
afiller@earthlink.net
310-621-1983
Public Library of Science

New findings solve human origins mystery

Baywax · Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 113 Location: Pacific West Coast

I am a proponent of the "Aquatic Ape" theory.

I don't know if you know about it but it makes sense in that:

1. Evenutally, Savana apes would follow a river to the ocean... especially in times of drought or lack of food.

2. The year round seafood they would find at the oceans edge would provide the necessary nutrients for accelerated brain development (this is why fish + krill oil and omega 13 etc... are popular suppliments for students today.

3. The upright nature of our morphology could easily have begun to take place on the beaches and in the surf of Ethiopia while we fished or foraged for seaweed.

4. The evolution of our nose from an open upright structure to a streamlined and protected opening probably caused by the need to keep water out of the sinuses while swimming forward.

5. Missing link........ all evidence of this period would be washed away by tide, sea level changes.

6. Those who may have left the "beach" end up in our data bank with upright posture and so on...... the period the "aquatic ape" spent on the beach may have been over a million years.... say.... 16 million years ago.

http://www.primitivism.com/aquatic-ape.htm
_________________
Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory. Leonardo Da Vinci

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
W.C. Fields

billiards · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:47 am Post subject:

I also like the aquatic ape hypothesis, although I must confess I have never really looked beyond what I have serendipitously stumbled upon, namely there was a nice radio program on BBC radio 4 which told me about it (I'll try to dig it up later, it might still be on the web). In the mean time, here is some more evidence in favour of the aquatic ape hypothesis (some may be duplicate of baywax's above post):

We have relatively hairless bodies compared to all the other great apes, which are completely covered in hair. Very few mammals are as completely hairless as humans, and most of those that are live in an aquatic environment. Also, what little hair we have does not sprout randomly, but is aligned to direct water to our midline, minimising drag.

Mammals have many mechanisms for shedding excess heat, including panting, insulating layers of fur - camel fur keeps the heat out - and bathing in cooling mud or water. Humans lose heat primarily by sweating. This costs the body vital salt, which would be a problem for a plains-dwelling animal, but not for one that lived close to or in the sea. Crying salt tears is a unique human trait, which may have evolved as a way to shed excess salt.

Humans are the only terrestrial animals that can voluntarily hold their breath at will. The only other mammals that can do this are all aquatic or semi-aquatic, such as otters, seals, whales, dolphins, hippos and so on.

Humans, unlike other apes, have a descended larynx just like seals. This makes gulping large amounts of air at one time very easy. This is useful for underwater fishing, in that it allows a very quick 'top-up' of the lungs between or after dives.

Humans are the only apes to have subcutaneous fat. Like seals and whales, this is insulation (blubber) from heat loss under water. The fat is bonded to the epidermis from underneath, which is unusual in the ape species but not unusual in sea mammals.

Human babies are born fat and with the instinctual ability to swim and hold their breath under water. This is highly characteristic of an animal that has evolved by the sea, and fat babies who can swim would not be very useful on the savannah.

It is possible that humans became bipedal because it was useful for keeping the head above water when swimming and coming up for air. There is a great deal of debate over the origins of man's bipedal gait - enough to fill an entry alone. However, suffice to say here that there is enough uncertainty in the 'mainstream' explanations to allow for alternatives such as this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A730531

billiards · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:55 am Post subject:

Here is the link I promised, I thoroughly recommend giving these a listen, fascinating stuff (and it's got Sir David Attenborough too!!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/scarsofevolution.shtml

Baywax · Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 113 Location: Pacific West Coast

Baywax · Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 113 Location: Pacific West Coast

Who knows, maybe this... person... is from a branch of humanity that stayed on the beach so many millions of years ago...

...but, don't bet on it!

(Actually this is the "merman" from the Indian Trading Post in Banff, Alberta. I've seen it up close and you can see that the stitching holding the fish portion of the body to the "human" portion is deteriorating severely! Situated in the Rocky Mountains, Banff is one of the best places to have fun, hike, do spas and hot springs and pretty well anything you can imagine. There's also the Rocky Mountaineer passenger train that will take you for a few days ride and a few thousand dollars.)

_________________
Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory. Leonardo Da Vinci

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
W.C. Fields