>
>All this talk about nursing marine mammals seemed to relate to this aquatic ape
>theory I stumbled across on the web.  According to the theory, our ancestors
>lived in an aquatic or semi-watery environment and this is why we share some
>charcteristics with other marine mammals, such as the subcutaneous fat layer
>being attached to the skin, whereas it being attached to the underlying tissues
>in apes.  Now, is this bunk?

Yes.

There is no evidence that humans ever were aquatic, and the attachment of
the fat to the surrounding tissues is the same in apes as it is in humans
(who *are* apes, zoologically speaking).

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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352