11.11 Moving to the savannah and the aquatic ape hypothesis

The majority of scientists believe in the model that the arboreal existence of early human was replaced by a move to the savannah for hunting animals, even though major adaptations occurred in human ancestors long before the savannahs existed. An alternative model of human evolution, strongly disputed by many researchers, is the “aquatic ape hypothesis” (AAH). This asserts that wading, swimming and diving for food exerted a strong evolutionary effect on the ancestors of the genus Homo and is in part responsible for the split between the common ancestors of humans and other great apes.