Re: Aquatic Ape Theory
Indexed and Spammed Elmo (morrow@riph5.rice.edu)
25 Jan 97 17:37:06 -0600
ckank@avatar.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Christopher Kankel) writes:
[Bipedality]
> also leads to ventro-ventral copulation, something we share with sea
> mammals but not our closest ape relatives.
Bonobos, who are our closest ape relatives, also engage in ventral-ventral
copulation. In our case, it is more likely to be a behavior derived from
limited vaginal migration during maturation, a neotenous feature common
to both bonobos and humans. (In short, immature female apes have more
ventral vaginas; during maturation, growth is such that the vagina opens
more dorsally. This doesn't happen in humans because our growth patterns
are more like those of immature apes than they are of mature apes, i.e.
neotenous.)
> they attribute the following features of man to his aquatic past:
>
> 2) furlessness
As easily explained as a response to the savannah sun. (Note our
inefficient sweat system--we probably had to evolve compensatory features
when that little mutation cropped up.)
> 10) ability to vocalize, which is at a premium in water
What? Chimps are *loud*, as are many other apes and monkeys.
And human vocal apparatus is *not* designed to work under water.
--
elmo morrow@physics.rice.edu
http://www.bonner.rice.edu/morrow
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