Re: Bipedalism and theorizing... was Re: Morgan and creationists
Paul Crowley (Paul@crowleyp.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 25 Sep 96 09:41:51 GMT
In article <Dy92s4.Ks0@inter.NL.net>
ghanenbu@inter.nl.net "Gerrit Hanenburg" writes:
> Paul Crowley wrote (on 24-7-96):
> >Chimp, gorilla, orang and gibbon infants do *not* hold onto hair.
> >It would not be strong or plentiful enough and they're much too heavy.
> >They hold onto their mothers' *bodies* using their long arms and legs.
> >You can see this in any zoo.
This is an old matter; it is also very minor. The main issue was
whether a hominid female with a vertical trunk could (or would) carry
an infant in the ventral or dorsal position. You said it would,
disagreeing with what appears to be the common view that they carried
infants in their arms. Of course, carrying-in-arms would substantially
disable the hominid female by comparison with its ape cousins.
> Jane Goodall about chimpanzees:"For the first 6 to 9 months the infant
> is normally transported from place to place in ventro-ventral
> position,gripping the mother's hair between flexed fingers and toes."
<snips>
What's the point in quoting chunks from textbooks and learned papers?
This is not an abstruse topic; anyone can readily check it - by going
to a zoo, by looking at TV or at pictures in books. It's also so minor
that I can see little point in debating it. Insofar as we disagree, I
think it must be on terminology.
Paul.
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