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Tarantio t1_j9ix1oy wrote

Reply to comment by GeriatricHydralisk in What are more accepted hypotheses that similarly explain the aspects of hominid evolution that the "pseudoscientific" aquatic ape theory does? by KEVLAR60442

Are there any traits that we can say are linked to humans' propensity to swim?

I know that humans (and most apes) have no instinct to swim, but humans do learn to swim and enjoy doing so. We've also been fishing for a long time.

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GeriatricHydralisk t1_j9jfnpm wrote

Not as far as I know, though there are populations of humans who dive a lot (the Bajau sea people) who have enlarged spleens and several other differences in their blood. However, these people spend huge amounts of time foraging and diving in the water, and have for thousands of years.

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Tarantio t1_j9ji7y0 wrote

I'm thinking much longer ago than that, if homo habilis tools have been found mixed among fish fossils: https://www.wired.com/2010/06/first-fish-diet/

I don't know how one would go about determining what adaptations allowed early hominids to catch fish.

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GeriatricHydralisk t1_j9jklgp wrote

To be fair, though, catching fish doesn't necessarily mean swimming or diving. With a good spear and some practice, you don't even need to go knee-deep.

The other problem with extensive aquatic behavior in early humans is that basically every body of water in Africa bigger than a puddle probably has at least one Nile crocodile in it. That doesn't preclude aquatic behavior, but certainly discourages it.

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