The Smithsonian reports on the , “Tiny hominim found on the island of Flores, Indonesia,” that has, “Shaken up the world of paleoanthropology.” Click on the link above for a video presentation about the ongoing research in Flores.
Here’s more from the report:
“The skeletal evidence suggests that adults of this species had extremely small brains (400 cubic centimeters), stood only about 1 meter (3’6”) tall, and weighed around 30 kg (66 lbs). For their height, these individuals have large body masses, and in this regard appear more similar to earlier hominins like “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis) than they do to modern humans, including small and large-bodied people. The proportions between the upper arm (humerus) and upper leg (femur) also appear more similar to those in Australopithecus and Homo habilis than those of modern humans.”
This hobbit-like hominim was found in 2003, during an excavation at Liang Bau cave. But, further research was recently published by Dr. Susan Larson and Dr. William Jungers of Stony Brook University Medical Center, both described as, “Experts on human evolutionary anatomy.”
“Dr. Larson has shown that the shoulder of Homo floresiensis is more like that in Homo erectus rather than modern humans, and Dr. Jungers has demonstrated many anatomical features of the “hobbit” foot that are shared with African apes and early hominins like Australopithecus afarensis (e.g., “Lucy”).”
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