Hello again. Thanks for replying.
quote:
so the question is "Why would proto-humans have to adapt to water?"- they have, so there was a reason for it. Geological evidence say that millions years ago( I guess it was 7), the place where about the first fossils were found, was flooded. It's much drier now. So naturally our ancestors had to adapt. And I do not mean that they had to adapt to living completelly in the water, like 100% of the time, but much.
Just b/c an animal can exploit a certain habitat does not mean that that habitat affected its modern form. Sloths are great swimmers, but I would like to see how their evolutionary history was affected by the water. Same with dogs. Or tigers. They are not extremely well adapted for an aquatic or semi-aquatic existence. But they all can swim!
Also, what "first fossils"?
Lastly, we find a lot of fossils where water once swept the bodies into the area, covered them with sediment and allowed them to fossilize. Just b/c we find fossils in a place doesn't mean the creatures whose bones they are lived there.
Other explanations are simpler and more direct--standing upright on two legs is advantageous in grasslands where the taller you are, the further you can see over the grasses; a reduced sense of smell is just what you would expect from an animal that is vision oriented (interesting how our vision is related to us being diurnal, just like the other great apes).
Can you give me some links to your info. I would like to see what these people have to say. Beware of running with a novel idea just b/c of its novelty. Thanks.