Desmond Morris gives credence to AAT
Pat Dooley (patdooley@aol.com)
9 Jan 1995 22:26:02 -0500
I watched Desmond Morris' TV show "The Human Animal" on the
learning channel last night. He gave prominent coverage to the AAT
and left open the possibility that it might be a valid explanation for
some human traits. Some of the stuff he showed was very interesting:
The opening shot showed a series of dark humps sort of moving around
in muddy watter. They turned out to be young African boys catching
small fish in their mouths.
Another segment showed the fishing techniques of some Asian region.
They used a net but the major part of their technique involved diving
unaided
to a depth of 80 feet and staying their for up to 3 minutes to drive fish
into a net.
Plus, he covered the usual list of AAT attributes. He had some great shots
of young babies swimming underwater. (To the poster who said something
along the lines of that ability being useless if it didn't emerge at
birth;
that would only be a valid objection if the AA was 100% aquatic like a
whale. But new-born seals are nurtured on land and AA babies probably
were, too.)
I find it interesting that AAT opponents so readily dismiss human diving
and swimming ability. That is the one area where human performance far
surpasses that of any other ape.
Pat D
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