Re: AAT a bust

Elaine Morgan (Elaine@desco.demon.co.uk)
Fri, 06 Oct 1995 14:47:02 GMT

In article: <Pine.OSF.3.91.950929092727.11389B-100000@moe.cc.utexas.edu>
David Froehlich <eohippus@moe.cc.utexas.edu> writes:
>
> > > Look at the skeleton of the foot of a Steller's sea lion. (you can
find
> > it illustrated in "The Aquatic Ape: Fact or Fiction" p. 100). t
is a
> > closer aproximation to the skeleton of a human foot than you will
find
> > anywhere else in the animal kingdom
> >
> I seem to remember that Van Daniken made the same sorts of arguements
for
> alien landing strips in the Nazca plains based on pictures with no
scale
> (you know the pictures, of a bird foot or something that looked like
> parking spaces off of a runway that turned out to be about three feet
wide).

I know the von Daniken piece. Could you explain exactly how anything I
said constitutes the "same sort of argument" as that phoney?


> Are you seriously argueing that there are more similarities in a
stellar
> sea lion foot than between a human foot and any primate foot?

I'm not arguing it, I'm just pointing it out as a fact that the skeleton
of the foot is more similar in respect of relative legnth of digits, and
the way they relate to each other. I do not claim that a similar
conformation could not have resulted from bipedalim on land however that
adaptation was acquired. I mentioned it only becasue someone was claiming
that the allegedly close resemblance between our feet and those of apes
was conclusive evidence of something or other.

I would
> argue that the derived features of a human foot (arch, pad, large
halux)
> are all as easily or more easily produced by bipedal terrestrial
> locomotion than swimming.

I don't disagree with that. I think most of the modification took place
subsequent to the aquatic interlude.
h
I could as easily hypothesize, speculate, guess, whatever
> that aliens produced the same results by genetic engineering ;-). My
> theory is as plausible as AAS. Speaking of which maybe I should write
it
> up and get credulous people to buy it?
>
Oh David I wish you would. I wish to God that somebody would. People keep
asking me "Where can I find an up-to-date book that gives the other side
of the question?" Icam only refer them to the "Fact or Fiction?" volume
and a lot of things have changed since then
>
> ELAINE.
>
>
>
> 

-- 

Elaine Morgan