Did humans come from the seas instead of the trees ? [View all]

[dipsydoodle]

Full headline : Did humans come from the seas instead of the trees? Much-derided theory of evolution about aquatic apes is debated in London.



Scientists, academics and medics gather this week in a London hotel to discuss a topic that has been virtually unmentionable in academic circles for decades: are humans descended from “aquatic apes” that spent more time swimming than dragging their knuckles on the ground?

The last time this question was asked, at a conference in 1992, there was much scoffing and ridicule. Other academics sneered and Bernard Levin wrote a full-page article lampooning the idea in a national newspaper.

This week’s conference, Human Evolution Past, Present and Future – Anthropological, Medical and Nutritional Considerations, at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel, has also already been the subject of much derision. Followers of the conventional and overwhelmingly accepted belief that our ancestors were very much land-based are launching a parody campaign online to argue we evolved from “space monkeys”. Most scientists will openly scoff at the idea of us deriving from water-bound primates.

But, perhaps emboldened by the presence of Sir David Attenborough – who was booked to attend the conference for one session but asked at the last minute if he could attend both days – the aquatic ape theorists are back.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/did-humans-come-from-the-seas-instead-of-the-trees-muchderided-theory-of-evolution-about-aquatic-apes-is-debated-in-london-8608288.html