Scientists have found the oldest fossilized footprints made by a four-legged creature forcing a rethink on when fish first crawled out of water and onto land.
The discovery of the footprints in a former quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains in south-eastern Poland are thought to be 395-million years old -- 18 million years older than the earliest tetrapod (a vertebrate with limbs rather than fins) body fossils.
As an undergraduate anthropology major, this stuff fascinates me. How we got to be where we are today, when we started on land as a "walking fish" is incredible. Of course, what's even more crazy is that we're now walking around on two legs and are hell-bent on destroying the very environment that gave birth to us.
Hmm...if we would have only stayed closer to the ground, maybe this whole pollution thing might never have happened. Is it evolution or devolution?
Okay, I have had the same fascination most of my life and found this TED Talk absolutely convincing. Her overwhelming confidence helps sell the idea, but the presented facts stand on there own.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elaine_morgan_says_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes.html
Scott,
ReplyDeleteAs you may (or may not) know, anthropolgy, with a concentration in physical anthropology is my undergrad degree.
Elaine Morgan's presentation makes a LOT of sense. I certainly don't disagree with her and always felt that we evolved from "the water."
Thanks!
Best,
Dan