I had just watched the animal planet mockumentary on tv and was left with at least a hundred questions as to the basis of the aquatic ape theory. The aquatic ape theory fails as a scientific theory because it has no supporting evidence. He waited for thirty years before publishing an account of it, having a shrewd idea how it would be received and how it might damage his career. People think they know about evolution, but the aquatic ape theory isnt science. What is the supporting evidence for the aquatic ape theory. In the program, they interview free diver sara campell who went from a total beginner to a holder of three world. Sorry david attenborough, we didnt evolve from aquatic apes. The aquatic ape theory is something i first heard about from one of my favourite blogs, mermaids are real, which is actually a published book as well. As a result the disease is now essentially limited to coastal regions. Synopsis this thoughtprovoking text presents the aquatic ape theory, with new information, new questions and a wealth of documentary evidence. Well before this time, human ancestors such as homo erectus, whose brain size fits between ourselves and. That is, i find it more likely that an aquatic ape would be living near a river than an ocean.
The supporting evidence that tries to prove the theory true lies in the existence of hominid fossils in coast of east and south africa. Elaine morgan, who has died aged 92, was a delightfully controversial advocate of the aquatic ape theory of human evolution. Theory that humans underwent a semi aquatic phase at some point in their evolution. Sorry david attenborough, we didnt evolve from aquatic. Chapter four the aquatic ape theory mermaids are real. According to aquatic ape theory aat it was because they were spending a lot of time in the water. In this way we have seen exostoses appear in different stages of the evolution of man as a result of mechanical, chemical and now thermal irritation. Elaine morgan 192020 was the author of the 1972 book the descent of woman, which suggested that human evolution had an aquatic origin. Ours is much larger even though it doesnt always seem that way.
Despite this research is seen as pseudo science, morgan continued writing on the subject in the aquatic ape, the scars of evolution, and the aquatic ape hypothesis. Aquatic apes are the stuff of creationism, not evolution. In the decades since, morgans aquatic ape hypothesis has gained widespread support. Morgan, who has written at least six books promoting the aquatic ape theory.
Each of the individual claims is small enough in scope to be called a hypothesis wading hypothesis, hairdrag hypothesis, fatbuoyancy hypothesis, etc. A few years ago, elaine morgan published a book called the aquatic ape that publicized a theory that humans, at some time in their evolution, had partially adapted to a marine environment. Fossil evidence is scarce and this has been the main reason why critics have been reluctant to consider the theory. Human brain anatomy is markedly different than that of an ape, especially where the cerebral cortex is concerned. What follows is an examination of the major pieces of evidence cited by supporters of the aquatic ape theory theory. Elaine morgan, armed with an arsenal of television writing credits and feminist credentials, spent her life on a mission to prove humans evolved in water. The waterside hypothesis requires a rethinking of human evolution. In a nutshell, its a book written for the nonacademic masses, so dont expect it to be written in a scholarly manner.
Next week they will hold a major london conference when several speakers, including david attenborough, will voice support for the theory. The book is very readable and sets out an impressive list of anatomical and physiological facts that, taken. 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. I go for riparian forest hypothesis followed by a savanna ape hypothesis. One quick search on amazon got me directed to this dealer and within about 3 days i had it in my hands. Morris concluded, however, that despite its most appealing indirect evidence, the aquatic theory lacks solid support.
One theory, or hypothesis as the case may be, that tenaciously attacks the african origin theory is the aquatic ape theory. It is the most persuasive, closely argued case yet offered to explain the mystery of human origins. 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. Given the problems it still gives us millions of years later, such as back pain, hemorrhoids and hernias, bipedalism must have been necessary for some reason. This book presents an opinion which diverges slightly from opinions held by others. The aquatic ape theory graham hancock official website.
Aquatic ape hypothesis versus savanna ape hypothesis. The aquatic ape theory was an attempted explanation for why humans differ so much from the other great apes. Morgan was appointed officer of the order of the british empire obe in the 2009 birthday honours for services to literature and to education. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Sometimes known as aat a highly plausible and convincing theory to some, a load of nonsense to others. The author presents her evidence in a fair, and readable, manner. In 1967, the hypothesis was mentioned in the naked ape, a popular book by the zoologist desmond morris, who reduced hardys phrase more aquatic ape like ancestors to the bare aquatic ape, commenting that despite its most appealing indirect evidence, the aquatic theory lacks solid support. The ability to walk on two legs gives us great advantages over other animals, namely the ability to move at high speeds while still having our hands available for. The theory of an aquatic phase in human prehistory was conceived by sir alister hardy in 1930, when he was a young professor of marine biology at oxford. Evidence for the aquatic ape theory the main evidence is humans have several features that are seen more often in aquatic than terrestrial mammals. The aquatic ape theory states that our ancestors once spent a significant part of their life in water. Like with other aquatic mammals, all that hair just got in the way. We also have evidence our ancestors had to survive periods of extremely.
Here are just a few reasons to think that the aquatic ape theory might not be so crazy after all. In east africa, the geologic and fossil evidence suggests that. Books and publications semiaquatic human ancestors. From classics to selfhelp, cookbooks, childrens books and more. Desert dolphins scuba diving club tucson, az has 415 members. Could a condition known as surfers ear provide evidence for a different take on human evolution. My book arrived both sooner and in better condition that i expected. In that test, the aquatic ape has failedagain and again. Joseph ghesquiere and helen bunkens the non aquatic ape. The aquatic ape theory suggests that at some point in the evolutionary chain for humanity, there was a period of time when there was an aquatic or a semi aquatic stage. The aquatic ape hypothesis aah, also referred to as aquatic ape theory aat is the idea that ancestors of modern humans were. Hominids all diverged from common ancestors, but homo sapiens more radically so. In contrast to modern man, early hominins would not have been surfing or swimming for social reasons, but their frequent immersion in water would have.
When she produced descent of woman 1972 the first of her several. Book excerpt from the waterside ape the scientist magazine. Although there is evidence that brachiating apes developed bipedalism in the trees, the aquatic ape theory says it was required for wading in the semi aquatic habitat under the trees. In my opinion, the facts fit beautifully in the aquatic ape theory aat. Desert dolphins scuba diving club tucson, az public group. Aah aat alister hardy aquatic ape theory badjao badjao association of matina aplaya badjao conference bajau laut bajau laut conference bajo broken eardrums coral triangle davao derawan islands dha docosahexaenoic acid donald johanson dynamite fishing elaine morgan erik abrahamsson erika schagatay fish bombing grouper harry arlo nimmo hawksbill. Popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by writer elaine morgan, the theory suggests.
A new aquatic ape theory science smithsonian magazine. Today, prolonged contact of the external ear canal with cold sea water is the most prevalent cause aquatic theory. The disturbing theory regarding the existence of mermaids. The aquatic ape theory was an attempted explanation for why humans. Presumably, early apes were plant and fruit eaters in tropical.
The aquatic ape hypothesis aah, also referred to as aquatic ape theory aat and more recently the waterside model, is the idea that certain ancestors of modern humans were more aquatic than other great apes and even many modern humans, and, as. First proposed by sir alister hardy in the 1950s, and taken up in the 1970s by elaine morgan in books such as the descent of woman and the descent of the child. Even if eventually the aquatic ape hypothesis turns out to be true, he continued, it need not completely rewrite the story of human evolution, but rather add to our species evolutionary arc a salutary christening ceremony. This theory had first been proposed by an english marine biologist named alister hardy if i remember correctly and was held to explain a host of. Contrary to its cryptozoological title, its actually more about real history than it sounds, but thats a story for another day. She would write about the theory in her book the descent of women, which would go on to become an international bestseller and really increase the prominence of the aquatic ape hypothesis, and she would go on to pen other books on the matter such as the aquatic ape 1982, the scars of evolution 1990, the descent of the child 1994 and the. The mythical mermaid is clearly an aquatic animal and so is a human being if we are to believe the aquatic ape theory. It is a great shame the bbc recently indulged this implausible theory as it distracts from the emerging story of human evolution that is. The aquatic ape theory is large enough in scope to be called a theory. African origins theory is fairly well accepted among anthropologists and archaeologists, as well as most related scientific disciplines, but there are, as with natural selection, some competing ideas. This book is an update to her 1960s book the aquatic ape theory which is now sorely outofdate, so if youre going to read it, read the 1990s version called aquatic ape hypothesis. Presumably, early apes were plant and fruit eaters in tropical forests. So the aquatic ape theory is actually pretty interesting. The aquatic ape hypothesis is one of these, now championed by sir david.
He was not aware that a similar idea had been published in germany. The aquatic ape theory proposes that such an aquatic phase, during which ancestral hominids relied on a water habitat, explains much of the distinctive anatomy of recent humans. We walk upright all the time, we dont have fur, we have bigger brains and are less robust, and so on. Through the process of convergent evolution, an aquatic environment offers an alternative hypothesis for certain features that humans have compared to other primates. The bizarre hypothesis of the aquatic ape mysterious. 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. Proponents of the aquatic ape theory compare the predictions of their model with the predictions that they derive for a traditionalist model, which they term the.
We are told by scientists that we evolved from apes and that we share about 98% of our genes with the chimpanzee and bonobo, but the problem is that we dont look like any other ape. A recent book outlines fossil evidence supporting the controversial hypothesis. Why anthropologists dont accept the aquatic ape theory. The aquatic ape theory often referred to as the aat or aah ill generally refer to it as the aath on this site says humans went through an aquatic or semi aquatic stage in our evolution and that this accounts for many features seen in human anatomy and physiology.
It is unlikely that an ancestor fossil will ever be found that conclusively identifies an aquatic lifestyle because the skeleton would not necessarily reflect the aquatic. Machteld roede more thoughts on the aquatic ape theory karlerich fichtelius. A gorilla in the congo wading in a swamp image courtesy of. The aquatic ape theory gets another trace of evidence. The aquatic ape theory, now largely dismissed, tries to explain the. This idea was attacked at first by scientists, but the book became an international bestseller. It was suggested that if these exostoses were identified in early hominid fossil skulls, this would provide good evidence to support the aquatic theory. Sorry david attenborough, we didnt evolve from aquatic apes heres why.
Evidence for the controlled use of fire is rather sketchy prior to one million years ago. The hypothesis was met with so much criticism that its not even mentioned in human evolution textbooks. The aquatic ape theory, now largely dismissed, tries to explain the origins of many of humankinds unique traits. This book presents the latest evidence on the controversial waterside ape theory of human evolution, what used to be known as the aquatic ape theory. In support of the aquatic ape theory the post glacial. The aquatic ape hypothesis by elaine morgan goodreads. It seems more likely that a land animal transitions directly to fresh water. Most of these are differences between humans and the three other descendants of the lcm which, according to aquatic ape theory proponents, can only be explained as adaptations for living in and near bodies of water. This is because the evidence is stacking up more and more towards the aquatic ape theory and against the savannah theory. There is no scientific evidence supporting the aquatic ape hypothesis. Welsh feminist and proponent of the aquatic ape evolution theory, which claims that mankind evolved from seabased apes.
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