Re: Speciation - how do you know?

Paul Crowley (Paul@crowleyp.demon.co.uk)
Tue, 15 Oct 96 12:21:25 GMT

In article <3262F767.77B9@scn.org> bh162@scn.org "Phillip Bigelow" writes:

> Crowley answered:
> > Do male gorillas have all that musculature just to gather leaves?
>
> Oh Paul...Paul...
> Why do you have this fixation on male anthropoids in your answer?

We know a lot about gorillas: their detailed anatomy, their food,
lifestyle, niche, habitat, competition, predators, etc. Yet
we have very little idea as to why male gorillas are so muscular.
So how are we going to come to sound conclusions about an animal
that is long extinct about whose detailed anatomy, food, lifestyle,
niche, etc., we know next to nothing?

Why do you think male gorillas are so muscular? And why are
female gorillas no weaklings either? If we had good research on
that we might be able to apply it to Neanderthals.

> Tell us: Was the neanderthal female more stockily-built relative
> to the Homo sapiens sapiens female? In your answer (read, "your
> mindless speculation"), please rationalize to us how this fits
> in with your idea of intra-species competition.

The concensus is that Neanderthals were stocky (like Inuit or Saami)
because an adaptation to the climate. No one knows why they were
generally so muscular. Maybe the females had to engage in hand to
hand fighting as well. Maybe it was something to do with predators.
Whatever it was, it was NOT chasing after swift-footed prey. *That*
is the only "mindless speculation" around here. Shame that it's
also part of the received thinking to which you are so mindlessly
attached.

Paul.