Dr. Sharon Moalem focuses on the "Aquatic Ape Hypothesis" and medical water birthing on pages 198-205. In these pages, he presents a compelling theory about human evolution to explain the differences between us, humans, and our relatives, apes: our lack of fur, our having fat attached to skin, our prominent nose, and our downward facing nostrils. Dr. Moalem then mentions medical water birthing as support of the aquatic ape hypothesis; due to water birthing allowing easier birthing through a small pelvis, lower rates of infection, the presence of the mammalian diving reflex, shorter first stage of labor, and less pain during labor, it would make sense that water was an integral part of human life at some point and contributed to our evolution.
Yet, the aquatic ape hypothesis is not accepted by most anthropologists.
Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to analyze the reasons why the aquatic ape hypothesis is rejected by modern anthropologists, and whether their criticisms are justified or not. Please cite any outside information used.
Key words as selection pressure(s), advantage, survive, reproduce, etc. should be included in your response.
Good Luck and Have Fun!
Over and out.
(Gabriel Antoniak, gjantoni4@students.d125.org)
The "Aquatic Ape theory" is a hypothesis about human evolution, which says that the ancestors of modern humans spent a period of time adapting to a semiaquatic existence. However, many anthropologists neglect that this hypothesis is arguable. According to this article the author, John Hawks, says, "Hominids leading into the water sources available to them would have nothing to protect them from crocodiles and other large predators." This suggests that water could not have been part of our ancestors lives because the ability to survive and reproduce would not be possible. Humans did not have the proper defense mechanisms and traits that would allow them to escape large predators of the sea. Also, the author says, "Paleontologists have never found fossil evidence of this aquatic ape." Without sufficient evidence that the "aquatic ape" existed further demonstrates the frustration anthropologist have against the "Aquatic Ape Theory.
ReplyDeletehttp://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/pseudoscience/aquatic_ape_theory.html
However, there are suggestions that show anthropologists initial thoughts may not be entirely justified. An example of this is the way humans breath. According to an article, "The Aquatic Ape Theory" by Elaine Morgan, she says, "Voluntary breath control appears to be an aquatic adaptation because, apart from ourselves, it is found only in aquatic mammals like seals and dolphins." This suggests that we are more similar to aquatic mammals (Aquatic ape) than to land mammals is because humans are able to conciously control their breathing much like many aquatic mammals.
http://www.primitivism.com/aquatic-ape.htm
This relates back to Big Idea 1 because the hypothesis was rejected for the a great influence that humans would not be able to survive and reproduce in the aquatic environment due to the abundance of aquatic predators (as stated above).
Elliot Rosen (erosen3@students.d125.org)