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Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Hardy was the marine biologist who proposed the aquatic ape hypothesis. Hardy suggested that a band of woodland apes became isolated on an island and adapted to the water, and that these were humans’ predecessors. He noted that humans have no hair and have fat attached to their skin, much like marine mammals such as hippos, sea lions, and whales. This theory is widely refuted by anthropologists—instead, most hold to the more mainstream savannah hypothesis, which states that humans evolved due to conditions found in the savannah and the development of hunting techniques.
Alister Hardy Quotes in Survival of the Sickest
The Survival of the Sickest quotes below are all either spoken by Alister Hardy or refer to Alister Hardy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8 Quotes
That still doesn’t explain the lack of evolutionary pressure against bipedalism and the accompanying reproductive risk caused by the change in pelvic shape. Unless—what if the water changed the equation somehow and made the process easier? If the water made the birthing process easier, then most of the evolutionary pressure would favor the advantages those aquatic apes gained from the shift to two feet.
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Alister Hardy Character Timeline in Survival of the Sickest
The timeline below shows where the character Alister Hardy appears in Survival of the Sickest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: That’s Life: Why You and Your iPod Must Die
Morgan came across the work of marine biologist Alister Hardy, who proposed a theory called the “aquatic ape” hypothesis, suggesting that a band of woodland...
(full context)
Very few people took Hardy seriously until Elaine Morgan, who built a compelling case on top of his theory. She...
(full context)
