Post by Joanna on Feb 16, 2016 20:41:14 GMT -5
Hobbits Weren’t Human
Scientists have determined that a "Hobbit skull" (above) found on an Indonesian island in 2003 is not related to humans.
Some 13 years ago, experts found the remains on nine man-like creatures on the island of Flores and named them Homo floresiensis – or more colloquially, "the hobbits." However, it has now been proved they are not part of the Homo family at all.
It was believed these mysterious beings were a form of early humans who lived 15,000 years ago, but it has been determined this is untrue. Another theory was that they were humans who moved to the island, but shrank over several generations in a process known as "insular dwarfing," wherein an animal species on an isolated island shrinks over the years as the food supply decreases.
Antoine Balzeau, a scientist at France’s Natural History Museum and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Human Evolution, said he and his team have been studying the skull of one of the hobbits – which would have stood at just 3-feet-tall and weighed around 55 pounds. "There is a lot of information contained in bone layers of the skull," he added.
However, there was not enough information in these skulls to deduce what species they are. "There were no characteristics from our species" was all that could be concluded. "For the moment, we can't say one way or the other," Balzeau admitted.
Source: Sean Martin, The Express, February 16, 2016.
