Actually, there is one big flaw with the Aquatic Ape Theory.
If human ancestors were a species of aquatic ape, we would be MORE represented in the fossil record.
The largest fossil deposits are always found at the bottom of dead, shallow seas. Just the type of enviorment we would have likely lived in (think Lousiana Bayou).
If we lived in this enviorment, human ancestors would have a higher presence in the fossil record due to more mishaps, and more deaths in oxygen devoid enviorments conducive to fossilization.
Now, why we are hairless has always been an enigma to me. I've never heard a good theory, but the best is the wearing of hides.
However, we wouldn't start wearing hides unless we were cold to start with. And, this would probably be due to a lack heavy fur (catch 22).
So, that really leaves the parasitic pest outbreak theory (humans decimated by a strain of tick or lice carrying a deadly virus) or divine intervention. However, this theory does have historic precident, bubonic plague has always been a human misery, and is carried by fleas. Since we lost our fur, we are slightly less susceptable to plague. |
