This page pushes further open, the open door of the previous already conceded ground on tears and therefore should be regarded as another rather mute point.

Moore basically repeats arguments he has already phrased on the previous page, that salt glands are not absent in terrestrial birds or reptiles. He does so by quoting extensively from Peaker & Linzell (1975) giving a long list of terrestrial birds and reptiles (almost all arid adapted) which also have salt glands. His justification for doing this was that "the 'false facts' generated by AATers are persistent, and so I feel the facts must be stated once again."

Moore rebukes Morgan by concluding "I must admit I find it discouraging that someone who is making up a theory with which they wish to supplant the past several decades of paleoanthropology does so little research before making such claims. This info is readily available" but appears to be guilty of his own poor research as, seven years ago Morgan made it perfectly clear that she felt that her early ideas on this had been "almost certainly wrong about that" (Morgan 1997:102) and that she was withdrawing her support from them.

Further poor research is shown as he, once again, is not forthcoming with citations of the AAH proponents whose views he is so keen to publicise and refute. He writes "She did finally say that she was dropping these bogus claims, but these are related to her claims that human tears and sweat are aquatic adaptations, and she and other AATers still make those claims." He doesn't cite any example where she does still make such claims and indeed omits to cite the very clear and unambiguous withdrawal of this claim in her latest book (Morgan 1997:102-108)

If we add the 700 words Moore has written on this subject to the 5,000 on tears and the 5,000 more on 'Salt and the AAT' (next page), we can see that Moore tends to expand on the areas he he feels strongest. This is a legitimate tactic but readers should not view it as symptomatic of a strong overall argument. Few AAH proponents would hold up the salt tears, sweat excretion of salt or the salt gland evidence as adding any great weight to the AAH model. Readers should, perhaps, take more note that in Moore's web site not a single word has been written against one of the strongest arguments for a form of AAH - the case for a wading origin for hominin bipedalism.

References:
Peaker, M; Linzell, J L (1975). Salt glands in birds and reptiles. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge)

Morgan, Elaine (1997). The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis. Souvenir Press (London)

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