Aquatic Ape Hypothesis Essay

Introduced by Morgan in her Ted Talk clip, the aquatic ape hypothesis is an interesting take on human evolution. The hypothesis revolved around the idea that human beings evolved from “aquatic apes,” or our early ancestors who called that water their home. This hypothesis takes from the fact that humans share many characteristics with other marine mammals, such as being “naked,” having a layer of fat inside the skin, and having conscious control over breathing. Before this hypothesis, however, another theory for evolution existed, one that stated we were related to the apes. The theory was set in stone and agreed on, but when contradictory evidence came to light about microfauna from the same time period as our early ancestors, the theory …show more content…
After watching Morgan’s clip, I thought that the aquatic ape hypothesis seemed like a very likely scenario of human evolution, but Langdon’s paper made me question what I had just hear from Morgan. His paper put me in the middle of two sides, and I had a hard time deciding which hypothesis appeared to be more true or if I believed any of this at all. Langdon had a negative view of Morgan’s hypothesis. He was critical of it to the point where it seemed he was not willing to accept any part of Morgan’s hypothesis, no matter how well thought-out and researched it was. For example, Morgan pointed out that human hair grows in a way that reduces drag in water, but Langdon questions why then the human skeletal system was not streamlined as well to reduce the drag. Langdon, however, did make quite a few points that serve to discredit Morgan’s hypothesis. He presented solid evidence as to why the aquatic ape hypothesis is outrageous at best. The example that forced me to think the most was the eccrine glands analysis. Humans today sweat out water and salt from eccrine glands to help control body temperature. If we spent our past in the water, though, why would we need temperature regulation, and why would we excrete a valuable