Sirens Beyond Myth - Strange Reality

The subject of mermaids can be  confusing, particularly when we consider that most folklore has at least a minimal basis in truth. In 2019 an ENT surgeon (that's a head and neck doctor for us lay people around here) named Peter Rhys-Evans published The Waterside Ape: An Alternative Account of Human Evolution, a meticulously researched look at the Aquatic Ape Theory. Through the filter of the AAT, at some point in the evolution of ape-like beings, a geological event banished part of the population to a desert-savannah environment, and the remaining to a seaside region where they learned to swim, eat seafood, walk upright, and grow big brains. Those brainy bipeds may have slowly morphed into the sirens of folklore--no fishtails required. Nonetheless, the myths of beguiling half fish/half human creatures remain. Nick Redfern examines this further with Ancient Mermaids: Legends That Still Proliferate into the 21st Century. Many of these stories were likely offered up as warnings to youngsters to be careful around water, or as morality tales for the greedy looking for fast and easy riches. Nowadays we use warnings of the boogeyman--who knew he could swim? (CM)

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from THE ANOMALIST https://bit.ly/2PtbQWO