The discovery of what could be an epitome of Hobbit society is found in the cave of Flores located between the East of Bali, Indonesia, almost between Asia and Australia. The skeletons were hobbit-like species of humans having skulls the size of a grapefruit and lived with what is believed pygmy elephants and Komodo dragons. The original skeleton found was a female standing at just one meter (3. 3 feet) tall, approximately about 25 kilograms and was considered to be 30 years old at her death some 18, 000 years ago.
(Mayell, 2004) Homo floresienses has been attributed by many researchers as one of the most interesting and great discoveries in anthropology in history. These species are said to be the most extreme human ever discovered. Scientists attributed the species existence some 13, 000 years ago, about the same time humans existed. The discovery of Homo floresienses changed later human evolutionary belief that shows that the genus homo is much more varied and more flexible than just classifying the previously named human species.
(Mayell, 2004) Homo floresienses is included in the short list of human species that lived with smaller body size, smaller brain, constitutes a mixture of primitive and advanced anatomical features which fits in the requirements of the genus Homo. Physically what were believed to be the hobbits are about the size of a three year old Homo sapien or the modern human. The brain is only about one-third as large as the modern human, slightly loner arms, hard and thicker eyebrow ridges and sharply sloping forehead with no chin.
Although small, scientists believed the hobbits weighted about 1, 000 kilograms which is believed to pose a significant challenge in their hunting abilities. (Mayell, 2004) This inability entails most selectively hunting targets of the hobbits. They selected the smallest stegodons, or dwarf elephants, fish, frogs, snails, birds and rodents. Matthew W. Tocheri in September of 2007 announced his analysis that Homo floresienses should be considered a different and separate branch of the human evolutionary discoveries.
In his discovery of Homo floresienses wrist bones, he maintained that the wrist bones were an indistinguishable form of the African ape and unlikely to be distinguished as the same with early Homo species discovered such as the Neanderthals. (Schmid, 2007) He attempted to dispute earlier reasoning of pathological alterations o the wrist saying that the wrist bones discovered were of extinct proto-human like or the same as the African ape. Tocheri confirms that the time of existence of Homo floresienses can be considered the same with the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Works Cited:
Mayell, Hillary. “Hobbit-Like Human Ancestor Found in Asia”. National Geographic News. October 27, 2004. Retrieved from http://news. nationalgeographic. com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis. html Schmid, Randolph. “The Hobbit: Not Human? ”. Associated Press. September 20, 2007. Retrieved from http://dsc. discovery. com/news/2007/09/20/hobbit_arc. html? category=archaeology&guid=20070920160030&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000