Problem
Watch the videos 'World of Mysteries - On the Trail of Bigfoot' (Varma 2003), 'Laetoli footprints' (Getty Conservation Institute 1998), 'When we First Walked' (PBS Eons 2018), and the 'Patterson Bigfoot video' (Patterson 1967) as the subject for this week's discussion forum. Drawing on these videos, the assigned textbook readings (Feder 2020 Chapters 3 and 4), course lecture (Grimes 2014), and any additional sources you like (with citations), please discuss the evidence for Bigfoot (Sasquatch). Make sure to at minimum discuss the following questions:
A. What evidence is given to support the existence for Bigfoot (Sasquatch)?
B. What evidence is given to refute the existence for Bigfoot?
C. Using what we've learned in the mini-lecture on human evolution, how does the stated claim that Bigfoot originated from an early hominid or primate (e.g. Gigantopithecus blacki, robust australopithecines, or Neanderthals) hold up?
D. In your opinion, could Bigfoot represent a "missing link" proving humans evolved from apes as claimed in On the Trail of Bigfoot (Varma 2003, 2:17)? Why or why not? (Hint: Consider whether or not modern humans evolved from modern apes).