The aquatic ape idea is at best a hypothesis, and most of its critics refer to it as a hypothesis. The waterside hypothesis requires a rethinking of human evolution. In support of the aquatic ape theory the post glacial. All of this is relevant to the aquatic ape hypothesis and her role in it. Our skin is not hairless, we have as many hairs as a chimpanzee only they are shorter and finer. We are exclusively bipedal, lack fur, and have more fat. The waterside hypothesis requires a rethinking of human.
The aquatic ape theory has been disregarded by paleoanthropologists, but it deserves another chance. Elaine morgan 192020 was the author of the 1972 book the descent of woman, which suggested that human evolution had an aquatic origin. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. Addressing the accuracy of the aquatic ape hypothesis 12. As i have studied this idea and its reception in mainstream anthropology to phd level for the past 15 years, i was very interested to read them. I would say that there is more evidence that we are a multispecialist or multihabitat ape, who are able to walk and run on a savannah, swim and dive in shallow water, adapted to more than water only or savannah only.
The theory has also been the subject of at least two ph. As we will document, aat has as many or more problems than st, but it does effectively document the many shortcomings of the savannah hypothesis. Aquatic ape hypothesis captain cynic science forum. This is known as the aquatic ape theory hypothesis. Comments on allard and carpenter 1996, or the aquatic ape hypothesis revisited roderic d. You may wish to ask factual questions about aquatic ape hypothesis at the reference desk, discuss relevant wikipedia policy at the village pump, or ask for help at the help desk. This is the aquatic ape theory and although treated with derision by some academics over the past 50 years, it is still backed by a small, but committed group of scientists. Proponents use incorrect facts and logical fallacies such as straw men, appeals to authority, and false comparison in their arguments.
Pdf few things show the distinctiveness of human evolution research better than the aquatic ape hypothesis aah. Is there more evidence for the water ape or savanna ape. Forum comments on allard and carpenter 1996, or the. Tobias did not espouse the aquatic ape hypothesis as a primary cause for for instance our bipedalism. Come browse our large digital warehouse of free sample essays. One such idea is the aquatic ape hypothesis aah which attempts to explain a number of human adaptations with the single explanation of a semiaquatic ancestor. Only then will the aquatic ape theory get an essential role in the explanation of human evolution. This idea was attacked at first by scientists, but the book became an international bestseller.
Few things show the distinctiveness of human evolution research better than the aquatic ape hypothesis aah. Common misconceptions and unproven assumptions about the socalled aquatic ape hypothesis article pdf available in human evolution 28. The various attributes supposedly in support of an aquatic ape hypothesis do not bear scrutiny. Morgans study considers characteristics of the human development and form that lend themselves to the water. In the decades since, morgans aquatic ape hypothesis has gained widespread support. According to its proponents, our ancient ancestors would have spent a great deal of time in the water, perhaps the majority of the day, and would have begun to exhibit certain evolutionary adaptations to this. In the program, they interview free diver sara campell who went from a total beginner to a holder of three world records in just eight months, erika schagatay who have studied japanese ama divers and bajau divers and compared the data with semi. Article pdf available in ideas in ecology and evolution january 2020 with 43 reads how we measure reads. One specific example given by elaine morgan in the aquatic ape 1997 is the proboscis monkey which swims in.
As a result, the aah website is considerably biased and outdated, relying chiefly on the 1987 valkenburg conference roede et al. Pdf have we already tested the aquatic ape hypothesis. Also, the hypothesis and its variations have been largely ignored by mainstream paleoanthropology, although some papers have criticised aspects of it was lifted straight from wp, although the next sentence, it has been suggested, for example, that a broad enough. Get the knowledge you need in order to pass your classes and more. It may be that these are now seen to be misleading titles, but the phrase has been accepted by the hypothesiss opponents, so it would be difficult to justify a. In order to graduate from hypothesis to theory, an explanation must be supported by multiple lines of evidence. The aquatic ape theory aka aat or aah ill generally use the term aath on this site hypothesizes that humans went through an aquatic or semiaquatic stage in our evolution, generally said to have occurred during the transition from the last common ancestor we shared with apes lca to hominids although some aath proponents claim it continued on. The hypothesis was met with so much criticism that its not even mentioned in human evolution textbooks. The aquatic ape hypothesis aah, often also referred to as aquatic ape theory aat, is a proposal that the evolutionary ancestors of modern humans spent a period of time adapting to a semiaquatic existence. The aquatic ape hypothesis was first conceived by oxford marine biologist, sir alister hardy, back in the 1920s. Dennett has publicly queried why the aquatic hypothesis continues to be rejected. But that doesnt mean aquatic habitats didnt play some. A new aquatic ape theory science smithsonian magazine. The rejection of the aquatic ape theory is quite similar.
Sorry david attenborough, we didnt evolve from aquatic apes heres why. T he first, the role of the aquatic in human evolution. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article. The aquatic ape hypothesis aah essay aquatic ape theory. The scars of evolution this is a thoroughly interesting radio programme in two parts about the aquatic ape hypothesis of human evolution. The aquatic ape hypothesis aah, also referred to as aquatic ape theory aat is the idea that. Why anthropologists dont accept the aquatic ape theory 25 jan 2005 this is now an old post from 2005 see updates below one of the most common arguments about human evolution on the internet is whether hominids ever went through an aquatic phase in their evolution. The theory was first put forward more than 55 years ago.
Why anthropologists dont accept the aquatic ape theory. How scientists perceive the evolutionary origin of human traits ncbi. In this section i describe the reasons why proponents of the socalled aquatic ape hypothesis better labelled waterside hypotheses of human evolution, in my opinion find the idea so. The aquatic ape hypothesis aah, also referred to as aquatic ape theory aat is the idea that ancestors of modern humans were more aquatic than those of other great apes the hypothesis was initially proposed by the marine biologist alister hardy in 1960, who argued that a branch of apes was forced by competition over terrestrial habitats to hunt for food such as shellfish on the sea shore. Recent proponents of the aquatic ape hypothesis have pointed to much later watery adaptations, including. But he didnt reveal his hypothesis to the public until 1960 during a lecture and then in an article in the journal, new scientist. The aquatic ape hypothesis the most credible theory of human evolution by elaine morgan. Aquatic ape kevin palmer science and technology fifty years ago this question of how we evolved from ape to man was a. Humans and apes share a common ancestor, yet homo sapiens have several traits that distinguish them from orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and the rest. Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought and to say a book that doesnt mention the aquatic ape hypothesis at all is relevant on the aquatic ape hypothesis page is not appropriate.
Charleston2 division of environmental and evolutionary biology, institute of biomedical and life sciences, university of glasgow, glasgow g12 8qq, united kingdom accepted february 19, 1999. This idea was first proposed in 1942, and its greatest proponent since that time has been elaine morgan. A brief critique of morgans 1997 book,the aquatic ape hypothesis elaine morgans 1997 aquatic ape book her sixth is supposedly her best researched according to her so ive read it and here jotted down some notes of things that i could immediately see were errors, problems, or logical fallacies. Human evolution in the sea at bioko norwegian scitech news. Why is giving birth often argued to be more natural in water. The aquatic ape hypothesis is the idea that our ancestors went through an aquatic mammal evolutionary stage. In a 2016 september bbc radio program titled the waterside ape, sir david attenbourough presents new evidence for the waterside theory that have been published in recent years. Nor is an extension of the aah to neanderthals without a source explicitly making the. But today many aquatic ape proponents believe that our human ancestors continued to live close to water. Popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by writer elaine morgan, the theory suggests that early hominids lived in water at least part of the time. The aquatic ape hypothesis is one among many alternative theories of human origins, and indeed in that light is one of the most cogent and best argued lewin r. All i am urging is that the page include a small section entitled the aquatic ape hypothesis label where the problems surrounding its naming are briefly mentioned. On the contrary, waterside hypotheses provide an extra viewpoint to human evolution, not discussed by conventional. With an overdrive account, you can save your favorite libraries for ataglance information about availability.
Initially, alister hardy and elaine morgan suggested that human ancestors had been living along the coast along during a limited period of time 57 million years ago, and then left for land. The aquatic ape theory is an alternative explanation of human evolution that suggests modern man spent some time adapting to a semiaquatic environment before taking on its current form. Next week they will hold a major london conference when several speakers, including david. The aquatic ape theory, now largely dismissed, tries to explain the origins of many of humankinds unique traits. Elaine morgan and the aquatic ape erika lorraine milam.
Most aquatic creatures are hairy seals, otters, voles, capybara, platypuses, beavers, desmans, mink, water rats and their hair is. On one hand, we have orthodox research into human evolution, firmly based on land. In the program, they interview free diver sara campell who went from a total beginner to a holder of three world records in just eight months. He had seen a television special on the theory and briefly followed up with a search of the scientific literature, but. The aquatic ape hypothesis is the title of one of the books by elaine morgan, and the aquatic ape of another. The latest scholarly book on this subject includes waterside hypotheses of human evolution in its title, not aquatic ape hypothesis. Sorry david attenborough, we didnt evolve from aquatic. Key proponents and advocates of the aquatic ape hypothesis. This page is not a forum for general discussion about aquatic ape hypothesis. Can we please drop the fringe banners as the hypothesis is not fringe. The aquatic ape hypothesis by elaine morgan overdrive.
563 1131 266 884 283 671 329 1522 187 1637 1248 1057 534 432 256 1559 1555 1327 414 3 1612 293 1424 1304 390 904 548 901 274 972 398 1328 1360