Re: AAT
gunncb@elec.canterbury.ac.nz
29 Apr 1994 00:57:33 -0500
>>Our nose looks the way it does because we have a flat face. Most other
>>primates have snouts and the direction of the nasal passage is due to
>>the fact that it sits on a snout that projects forward quit a bit.
What a fascinating suggestion!
>How is this an advantage?
He did not say it was an advantage, only that it was an effect of the
change in our relative jaws sizes.
>So far, the only actual information you have presented was
>Pete Wheeler's explaination of hair loss and bipedalism. His
>theory is not without merit, but again I ask - if man was *so*
>hot that he would stand erect and lose his hair, would he
>not also get in the water to cool off? Especially since
>water cools so much better than air (as Pete Wheeler went
This is bizare. Why would man get so hot suddenly in the first place?
>to great lengths to explain). And especially since sweat
>needs to be replenished with frequent trips to the water
>anyway (a point that even Wheeler conceeds).
I suspect this is nonsense, although understandable. The Australian aborigines
may be a good example of a hot-savanah living race as far as getting hot is `
concerned. They do not drink frequently during the day, although they
do urinate reguraly. They manage to do this by spending their mornings
drinking huge amounts from the local watering hole. They don't drink again
until evening.
I suspect that a good explanation for the hairlessness/fat business may
go as follows: The advantages of fat are: insulation, energy storage.
The disadvantage is that it slows you down, more energy to move around.
Obviously fat apes would have trouble climbing trees. A disadvantage of
thicker fur is that it is a suitable habitate for lice, fleas etc.
==> You would expect apes to have their hair thin out, and gain fat if they
stopped climbing trees so much, and were able to feed themselves easier.
Further, is sweating a superior for of heat loss?
I seem to remember someone saying that men have more hair than dogs.
(number wise, possible count density).
Someone made a post commenting that having skinny legs did not make sense for
being an A-ape. I point out that in wadeing, it is better to have your
floatation higher.
One final point, could it be that the AAT ers are suggesting that the AA was
entering the hippo niche?
Gunn.
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