Bender R, Verhaegen M, Oser N
Anthropol Anz. 1997 Mar;55(1):1-14.
We are convinced that human bipedalism is better accounted for by the Aquatic Ape Theory than by the hypotheses, now commonly accepted, that the vertical gait is part of an adaptation for life in the savannahs. The advantages of the upright gait are easily understood by the versatility of this locomotion in a semi-aquatic mode of life. Early hominid bipedalism cannot be described as an ideal adaptation for one isolated form of locomotion, since human bipedalism covers a wide range of locomoter behaviours such as diving, swimming, wading, climbing trees and rocks, and moving on land. This locomotor versatility, however, should not be confused with theories that consider humans and their ancestors as "primitive" or "unspecialized" creatures. The pronounced swimming and diving abilities of humans--and the features that make these abilities possible--represents the most striking element of our species locomotor spectrum in comparison with highly specialized "savannah primates". On the one hand baboons and geladas are clearly better-adapted to savannah conditions than humans are, if the acquisitions of modern technology are not taken into consideration. To these adaptations belongs quadrupedalism, which is the most common and successful form of locomotion among terrestrial tetrapods. On the other hand, humans are in most respects much better swimmers and divers than nonhuman primates even without technological help. The only satisfying explanation for these different adaptations of humans and nonhuman primates is provided by the Aquatic Ape Theory. It is the only model of humans evolution that accounts for the numerous examples of convergent features between people and other vertebrates and the only model that explains these convergences in connection with a well-defined ecological niche.
我们深信，与现今普遍接受的假说（即直立步态是适应草原生活的一部分）相比，水生猿理论能更好地解释人类的两足行走。直立步态的优势在半水生生活方式中通过这种运动方式的多功能性很容易理解。早期原始人类的两足行走不能被描述为对一种孤立运动形式的理想适应，因为人类的两足行走涵盖了广泛的运动行为，如潜水、游泳、涉水、爬树和岩石以及在陆地上移动。然而，这种运动的多功能性不应与那些将人类及其祖先视为“原始”或“非特化”生物的理论相混淆。与高度特化的“草原灵长类动物”相比，人类显著的游泳和潜水能力以及使这些能力成为可能的特征，代表了我们物种运动谱中最显著的元素。一方面，如果不考虑现代技术的获取，狒狒和狮尾狒显然比人类更适应草原环境。这些适应包括四足行走，这是陆地四足动物中最常见和成功的运动形式。另一方面，即使没有技术帮助，人类在大多数方面也是比非人类灵长类动物更好的游泳者和潜水者。水生猿理论为人类和非人类灵长类动物这些不同的适应提供了唯一令人满意的解释。它是人类进化的唯一模型，既能解释人类与其他脊椎动物之间众多趋同特征的例子，也是唯一能结合明确的生态位来解释这些趋同现象的模型。
