The Aquatic Ape Theory
Aquatic ape theory:
The Aquatic Ape theory suggests that early hominids lived in the water part-time. This would explain our mostly hairless bodies, streamlined bodies for swimming, our upright walking which made wading in the shallows easier for us, and the layer of fat that we retain no matter how much we try to get rid of it.
Where it branches into mermaids, is the belief that some of our ancestors never returned to the land, instead, they stayed in the sea, and over time evolved into what we know as merfolk today.
This is just one of the merfolk myths that are out there, however, and many mermaids come from different cultures and lore.
Next time I post I will be starting with the Mesopotamia and Lore of merfolk and where it came from.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-new-aquatic-ape-theory-67868308/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3923303/#:~:text=The%20Aquatic%20Ape%20Theory%20states,sea%20shore%20animals%2C%20especially%20shellfish.
