Editing Mermaid (section)

=== Rational attempts at explanation ===
{{further|#Reported sightings|#Hoaxes and show exhibitions|#Scientific inquiry}}
Sometime before 546 BC, [[Milesian school|Milesian]] philosopher [[Anaximander]] postulated that mankind had sprung from an aquatic animal species, a theory that is sometimes called the [[Aquatic Ape Theory]]. He thought that humans, who begin life with prolonged [[infancy]], could not have survived otherwise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anaximander |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Anaximander |access-date=14 January 2020 |first=James |last=Evans }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://classicalwisdom.com/philosophy/evolutionary-theory-in-ancient-greece-rome/ |title=Evolutionary Theory in Ancient Greece & Rome |date=30 March 2019 |first=Jacob |last=Bell |website=Classical Wisdom Weekly |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114061418/https://classicalwisdom.com/philosophy/evolutionary-theory-in-ancient-greece-rome/ |archive-date=14 January 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There are also naturalist theories on the origins of the mermaid, postulating they derive from sightings of [[manatee]]s, [[dugong]]s or even [[Pinniped|seals]].{{sfnp|Waugh|1960|pp=77–78}}<ref>{{Citation | title = Dugongs and Mermaids, Selkies and Seals  | year = 1978 | page = 95 | first = A. Asbjørn | last = Jøn  | author-link=<!--A. Asbjørn Jøn--> |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280883413 |quotation=these 'marine beasts' have featured in folk tradition for many centuries now, and until relatively recently they have maintained a reasonably standard set of characteristics. Many folklorists and mythographers deem that the origin of the mythic mermaid is the [[dugong]], posing a theory that mythologised tales have been constructed around early sightings of dugongs by sailors.}}</ref> Another theory, tangentially related to the aforementioned [[Aquatic Ape Theory]], is that the mermaids of folklore were actually human women who trained over time to be skilled [[Underwater diving|divers]] for things like [[sponges]], and spent a lot of time in the sea as a result. One proponent of this theory is British author [[William Bond (author)|William Bond]], who has written several books about it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/412139.William_Bond |title=William Bond |website=Goodreads |access-date=2022-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-origins-of-the-mermaid-myth-william-bond/1110956704 |title=The Origins of the Mermaid Myth |first1=William |last1=Bond |first2=Pamela |last2=Suffield |date=2012 |website=barnesandnoble.com |access-date=2022-04-29}}</ref>