Little humans with small heads, of the size of a large grapefruit, and long arms might rewrite the story of human evolution. Australian archaeologists have found the remains of this new species, Homo floresiensis or 'the Hobbit', in Indonesia's Flores Island. Hobbits were just one metre tall and lived till at least 12,000 years ago, the science journal Nature has reported (news@nature.com, 'A stranger from Flores', October 27, 2004). But there are indications that Hobbits might have lived till a much later date. Henry Gee, senior editor of Nature, even speculates that they might still be living in the country's unexplored forests.
The remains of seven Hobbits have been found so far. The discovery "rewrites our knowledge of human evolution...To have [this species] present 12,000 years ago is frankly astonishing," says Chris Stringer, head of human origins at London's Natural History Museum. The unearthing of sophisticated tools used by Hobbits has surprised scientists, given their small brain size. "The whole idea that you need a particular brain size to do anything intelligent is completely blown away by this find," Gee says. Because the remains are relatively recent, scientists believe they might yield dna, which could markedly change the perspective on human evolution.
The Hobbits co-existed with a golden retriever-sized rat, giant tortoises, huge lizards, including Komodo dragons, and a pony-sized elephant called Stegodon, which they probably hunted. Their small size might have evolved due to the lack of resources on the island. Their long arms suggest they might have spent a lot of time on trees, Stringer says. Scientists believe Homo floresiensis might have evolved from another species, Homo erectus, whose remains were found in Indonesia's Java island.
Legends abound in Flores about little hairy people called Ebu Gogo. They say the Ebu Gogo used some kind of language and could even repeat what was said to them. Some of these stories claim they existed till just 100 years ago!
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