The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis by Elaine Morgan

Hardy thought instead that our ancestors' physiology changed dramatically when a population of woodland apes became isolated on a large island around what is now Ethiopia. It was generally accepted that apes evolved into humans when they were forced because of climate changes to descend from the withering trees to live on the arid savannah. What happened in between? Hardy came up with a startling suggestion. In an emerging African continent scorched by drought, our ancestors entered the Pliocene as hairy quadrapeds with no language and left it hairless, upright and discussing what kinds of bananas they liked best. He posited what may have happened during the Pliocene epoch, which lasted about five million years and for which no fossil information exists - the 'fossil gap'. The aquatic theory of human evolution was first advanced by marine biologist Professor Sir Alister Hardy in New Scientist in 1960. 'I just thought, 'There is something wrong with what they are saying now - not only do I not like the feel of it but I think it's demonstrably nonsense.' So I just waded in.' 'But I didn't start out with the aquatic theory,' she confesses cheerily. The Descent of Woman, part feminist polemic, part evolutionary bombshell, became a bestseller, translated into 25 languages and introducing a huge readership to this compelling hypothesis.

With no scientific training, the 52-year-old mother of three decided to pen a riposte to the grand theorists of the hour, singlehandedly - and singlemindedly - championing a hitherto ignored alternative explanation for human evolution called the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.

The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis by Elaine Morgan