The extinct species Homo floresiensis has long puzzled experts. A new analysis offers clues to the mystery of this tiny oddball’s place on the human family tree.
A hobbit-size species of ancient human that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores until about 50,000 years ago baffles scientists in several ways. First unearthed in a startling discovery nearly 21 years ago, Homo floresiensis, the scientific name for the extinct species, challenged the idea that human evolution unfolded in a neat line from primitive to complex. Experts don’t know why Homo floresiensis — nicknamed the “hobbit” after J.R.R.
The newly analyzed finds, along with other teeth, a jawbone and skull fragment, unearthed at the same site and previously described, represent four hobbit individuals. Together with the more recent Liang Bua fossils, they suggest that the tiny humans were able to thrive on the island despite the presence of predators such as 3-meter-long Komodo dragons and crocodiles.
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