THE HOBBIT

By Renaud

In 2003, Australian and Indonesian scientists, with 35 workers, found stone artifacts and animal bones in cave 20 feet deep. After three months of excavation, they found a human slice of bones. At the beginning they taught that this was only a skull but to this skull was joined almost an entire human skeleton. Seven others skeleton were discovered in the cave. They were analyzed by Peter Brown of the University of New England. The most complete skeleton was one of a woman of 30 years old. She was only one meter tall and weighted 55 kg. The volume of this woman’s body was less than one third of Homo sapiens (modern human). Her skeleton is dated to 18 000 years ago. The seven other skeletons were like her. The scientists who worked on this discover think that this is a new species. They called the new species Homo floresiensis because they found them in the Flores Island. They discovered near to the skeletons stones tools and bones of dwarf elephants, giant rodents and komodo dragons. Specialists think that Homo floresiensis hunted these animals. For hunting dwarf elephant, they isolated a juvenile in a swamp and attacked it. It is unbelievable that a human species the size of a three-year-old human could hunted an animal of 1000 kg.

But the main fact of this discovery is that the skeleton that they discovered was dated around 12000 to 95 000 years ago. The homo sapiens have colonized the earth about 18 000 years ago. This means that the homo sapiens and the homo floresiensis have been in the same on the earth. Homo floresiensis has the smallest brain of the human family with cranial size of 380 cm3. The actual human cranium has a size of 1350 cm3. The reason why the homo floresiensis is so little is because of a phenomenon called island dwarfing. This just happens when a species is isolated on an island. A limited environment and the absence of big predators cause the reduction of taller animals and the augmentation of smaller animals. This is why they had on the island dwarfs elephants (stegodon) and giant rodents.

(Reconstitution of the women of 30 year old)

But some anthropologists think that homo floresiensis is not a different species. Some think that homo floresiensis had a disease called microcephalia. But Karen Baab of the university of Stony Brook has done with research on the head of the homo floresiensis that seem that homo floresiensis is a new species. She proved that had not microcephalia. But even the researches of Karen Baab, some scientists do not think that homo floriensis is a new species. Like the Darwin theory, the debates will continue for a long time.

MAYELLE, Hilary. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html Hobbit-like human ancestor found in Asia. October 27, 2004.

ROACH, John. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090508-hobbit-foot-hippos.html. Hobbits not good runners; proof of new human species. May 8, 2009.

The people time forgot: Flores find. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/georgia/flores-hominids-text . April 2005.

Have you ever read stories of ‘little people’? Many cultures have these tales. Recent discoveries have gathered evidence that shows they may not be just stories after all...

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