Aquatic Apes

Since 1975, I have been fascinated by the idea that humans possibly had aquatic roots. A few decades ago, I wrote an article for Ocean Realm magazine entitled The Aquatic Ape, which invited some fierce criticism from a few anthropologists dismissing it as a silly theory without merit. When I asked them to point out how the evidence that I presented was flawed, they had very little to say other than that it was not a theory given credibility by the established scientific community.

In 1960, British naturalist Alister Hardy presented a theory that he had been working on for three decades. In an address to the British Sub-Aqua Club, he proposed the idea that the major difference in the evolution of human primates that was significantly different from most other primates was that humans had spent some time evolving in a semi-aquatic environment.(1)

When I first heard of Hardy’s theory in the 1970s, my reaction was that it was an idea that answered many questions I had asked myself for many years. I had swum with seals, dolphins, manatees and whales, and always felt a kinship with these marine mammals. I also observed that we had many characteristics in common, much more than we had in common with other primates.

Physical diving mechanism

Like dolphins and whales, humans have minimal body hair, allowing our smoother bodies to move easier through the water. And more significantly, we are the only primate with a physical diving mechanism. This means the ability to hold our breath for minutes at a time, the slowing of the heart rate, the reduction of blood flow to the arms and legs and a gradual rise in the mean arterial blood pressure. No other primate has this ability.

The average person can hold their breath for 60 to 90 seconds. But with training, this can increase up to five minutes, and in exceptional circumstances to between eight and 11 minutes — equal to the average time a dolphin can hold its breath. The Bajau people of Southeast Asia are free diver fishers and routinely dive to 20 meters for up to five minutes. The Ama of Japan are female pearl divers who have been diving for nearly a thousand years. They routinely stay submerged for up to seven minutes.

Let’s take a look at human physical aquatic features and behavior.

• Humans have subcutaneous fatty tissue that conserves heat and assists in buoyancy. All other primates are lacking in subcutaneous fatty tissue, but this physical characteristic is found in dolphins, seals and penguins.(2)

• The dive response restricts blood flow to the limbs and allows the lungs to deflate.

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