Human evolution: Driven by fear of snakes?

According to Lynne Isbell, who has recently published an article, fear of snakes drove the development of human vision and brain capacity.

The idea, proposed by Lynne Isbell, an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis, suggests that snakes and primates share a long and intimate history, one that forced both groups to evolve new strategies as each attempted to gain the upper hand.

Of course, it could just as easily have been fear of yellowjacket hornets, cooties, or scavenging skunks. Did all human fear snakes? Was no one really like Johnny Hart’s “fat broad” and just whammed the stupid thing with a club?

This all reminds me of the aquatic ape theory, which I don’t necessarily discount. I mean, all these ideas are interesting. But I have one plea for all concerned: For your own financial welfare, do what Jean Auel rightly did, and call your idea fiction.