Elaine Morgan's "I believe we evolved from aquatic apes": Corrections & Updates

At TEDGlobal 2009, former journalist Elaine Morgan offered a provocative hypothesis: “I believe we evolved from aquatic apes.” Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence supporting this hypothesis.

For example, there is no genetic evidence suggesting that Homo sapiens spent any significant period of time in the water during the evolution of our species. Nor is there any evidence from the fossil record. Nor is there a convincing explanation for why human ancestors would have entered the water and then come back out.

Though there is legitimate research linking humans and aquatic environments, there is no evidence that aquatic environments played a key role in modern human evolution. If you have further comments or information you feel should be added to this update, please do contact us with the subject line “Elaine Morgan comment.”

Updated August, 2017