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The aquatic ape hypothesis (AAH), often also referred to as aquatic ape theory (AAT), is a proposal that the evolutionary ancestors of modern humans spent a period of time adapting to a semiaquatic existence.〔Select writings of Elaine Morgan on AAH: * * * * * * 〕 The hypothesis was first proposed by German pathologist Max Westenhöfer in 1942 and then independently by English marine biologist Alister Hardy in 1960; however, the arguments of both men failed to achieve significant popular notice. After Hardy, the theory's most prominent proponent was former television documentary writer Elaine Morgan, who wrote a series of books on the topic, and she achieved a larger awareness of the theory after her first work appeared in 1972. However, the scientific reception of her ideas remained mixed to negative, subject to several specific criticisms such as the lack of physical evidence offered. AAH arguments made by Morgan have asserted that female behavior was the most compelling driver of human evolution and that peaceful co-operation among early humans were due to largely feminine influences, Morgan being heavily influenced by the feminist movement. However, the extant scientific consensus is that humans first evolved during a period of rapid climate fluctuations between wet and dry periods, with a complex set of conditions existing that humans adapted to by intermingled male and female parenting efforts.〔 Also, the mainstream view states that most of the adaptations that distinguish humans from the great apes are adaptations to a terrestrial situation, as opposed to an earlier, arboreal environment. Rejected by anthropologists broadly, few of them have explicitly evaluated AAH in scientific journals, and those that have reviewed the idea in depth have been largely critical.〔 General analysis by non-specialists, such as by the news-magazine ''Discover'', have also broadly rejected the theory.〔 The AAH is one of many hypotheses attempting to explain human evolution through one single causal mechanism, but the evolutionary fossil record does not support any such proposal.〔〔 The notion itself has been criticized by experts as being internally inconsistent, having less explanatory power than its proponents claim, and suffering from the feature that alternative terrestrial hypotheses are much better supported. The attractiveness of believing in simplistic single-cause explanations over the much more complex, but better-supported models with multiple causality has been cited as a primary reason for the popularity of the idea with non-experts. Advocacy for the AAH has been labeled by commentators such as science writer Brian Regal as being more ideological and political rather than scientific and hence, pseudoscientific.〔 ==History== The German pathologist Max Westenhöfer (1871–1957) can be said to have worded an early version of AAH, which he labeled "the aquatile man" (German: ''aquatile Mensch''), which he described in several publications during the 1930s and 1940s. Westenhöfer also disputed Charles Darwin's theory on the kinship between modern man and the great apes. As part of a complex and unique version of human evolution, he argued that a number of traits in modern humans derived from a fully aquatic existence in the open seas, and that humans only in recent times returned to land. In 1942, he stated: "The postulation of an aquatic mode of life during an early stage of human evolution is a tenable hypothesis, for which further inquiry may produce additional supporting evidence."〔Westenhöfer Max (1942) ''Der Eigenweg des Menschen. Dargestellt auf Grund von vergleichend morphologischen Untersuchungen über die Artbildung und Menschwerdung''. Verlag der Medizinischen Welt, W. Mannstaedt & Co., Berlin. 〕 Westenhöfer's aquatic thesis suffered from a number of inconsistencies and contradictions, and consequently he abandoned the concept in his writings on human evolution around the end of the Second World War.〔Westenhöfer Max (1948) ''Die Grundlagen meiner Theorie vom Eigenweg des Menschen: Entwicklung, Menschwerdung, Weltanschauung''. Carl Winter Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3533019695.〕 Independently and ignorant of Westenhöfer's writings, marine biologist Sir Alister Hardy (1896–1985) had since 1930 also hypothesized that humans may have had ancestors more aquatic than previously imagined, although his work, unlike Westenhöfer's, was rooted in the Darwinian consensus. As a young academic with a hypothesis belonging to a topic outside his field, and warned by colleagues that he could jeopardize his career if he published such a controversial idea, Hardy delayed reporting his idea for some thirty years.〔(Reeve, Eric. Book review: "The Aquatic Ape: Fact or Fiction?" (PDF) ). ''Genetical Research'' (Cambridge University Press), Volume 59 Issue 01 (February 1992): p. 64.〕 After he had become a respected academic and knighted for contributions to marine biology, Hardy finally voiced his thoughts in a speech to the British Sub-Aqua Club in Brighton on 5 March 1960. Several national newspapers reported distorted presentations of Hardy's ideas, which he countered by explaining them more fully in an article in ''New Scientist'' on 17 March 1960. Hardy defined his idea: My thesis is that a branch of this primitive ape-stock was forced by competition from life in the trees to feed on the sea-shores and to hunt for food, shell fish, sea-urchins etc., in the shallow waters off the coast. I suppose that they were forced into the water just as we have seen happen in so many other groups of terrestrial animals. I am imagining this happening in the warmer parts of the world, in the tropical seas where Man could stand being in the water for relatively long periods, that is, several hours at a stretch.〔. More legible version at (PDF )〕 The idea received some interest after the article was published, but was generally ignored by the scientific community thereafter. In 1967, the hypothesis was briefly mentioned in ''The Naked Ape'', a book by Desmond Morris (1928–) in which can be found the first use of the term "aquatic ape". While doing research for her book ''The Descent of Woman'' published in 1972, a book inspired by reading Morris' ''The Naked Ape'', TV-writer Elaine Morgan (1920–2013) was struck by the potential explanatory power of Hardy's hypothesis. While elaborating on Hardy's suggestion, in the book Morgan primarily sought to challenge what she considered a masculine domination of the debate on human evolution, and the satirical book became an international bestseller, making Morgan a popular figure in feminist movements and on various TV talk shows in, for example, the United States. On the other hand, her scientific contributions, including her elaboration on Hardy's aquatic humans, were effectively ignored by anthropology. Consequently, Morgan became the leading proponent of Hardy's original idea, which after a number of publications culminated in 1997 with the book ''The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis'', which, with its factual language and proper referencing, was aimed primarily at the academic community.〔 In 1987 a symposium was held in Valkenburg, the Netherlands, to debate the pros and cons of AAH. The proceedings of the symposium were published in 1991 with the title ''Aquatic Ape: Fact or Fiction?''. The chief editor summarized the results of the symposium as failing to support the idea that human ancestors were aquatic, but there is also some evidence that they may have swum and fed in inland lakes and rivers, with the result that modern humans can enjoy brief periods of time spent in the water. Weaker versions of the hypothesis suggesting littoral feeding and wading rather than strong aquatic adaptation have since been proposed.〔 These weaker versions of the hypothesis have not yet been scientifically explored.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aquatic ape hypothesis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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