Re: Polar Bear Challenge for AAH opponents
Phil Nicholls (pn8886@csc.albany.edu)
17 Dec 1994 05:37:18 GMT
In article <xk-22Te.patdooley@delphi.com>,
Pat Dooley <patdooley@delphi.com> wrote:
>Kevyn Loren Winkless <umwinkl0@cc.umanitoba.ca> writes:
>
>>yet, I have seen nothing more than circumstantial evidence (which
>>has been adequately explained without the AAH) to point to the
>>past "aquaticness" of the human ape. Don't get me wrong - The
>>idea of humans or near human ancestors being habitual waders
>
>We're still waiting for an internally consistent explanation of
>bipedalism, hairlessness, eccrine sweating and sub-cutaneous
>fat from the AAH opponents. We'd really like to see it
>backed up by some evidence from convergent evolution; there's
>nothing new under the sun so far as evolution is concerned.
There is no compelling reason to explain all of those things in
terms of a single adaptive response since there is no evidence
that they occurred at the same time. The only one we know for
certain is bipedalism. The rest could just as well have been
recent (within the last 200,000 years) changes.
Your constant emphansis on convergence ignores that fact that it
is not all that common and is certain not the driving principle
of evolution.
>So far as I understand it, the AAH doesn't propose much
>more than wading and a bit of swimming and diving, all
>in reasonable proximity to the sea shore.
>
I see a cartoon of a family of gorillas taking a vacation
at the beach. The mother gorilla shouts at the youngsters
"Stay out of the water or your hair will fall out!"
What exactly is the connection between wading and hairlessness,
pat? How can you argue that wading and occasional diving will
produce convergences with whales, dolphins and manatees?
>Pat Dooley wading in again.
--
Philip "Chris" Nicholls Department of Anthropology
Institute for Hydrohominoid Studies SUNY Albany
University of Ediacara pn8886@cnsunix.albany.edu
"Semper Alouatta"
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