On the Indonesian island of Flores there is a cave called Liang Bua, which has been attracting the attention of anthropologists for many years. In 2003, scientists found ancient artifacts inside it, and researchers were especially attracted by the remains of an adult woman of very short stature, approximately 100 centimeters. The authors of the scientific work studied her skull, lower jaw and several teeth, and then reconstructed her appearance – the woman, who lived about 100 thousand years ago, was named Flo. Some scientists decided that she belonged to a separate, dwarf species of ancient people, which were given the name Flores man (Homo floresiensis). Because of their short stature, these people are also called “hobbits”. Archaeological discoveries show that ancient people of short stature could have existed at a time when Homo sapiens already ruled the planet. But what if tales of gnomes and similar creatures appeared after meetings of different species of ancient man?
Approximate appearance of the ancient Flores man. Source: biomolecula.ru
Flores man – a real hobbit of ancient times
News that skeletons of a new species of ancient people were found in the Indonesian cave Liang Bua became sensational in the early 2000s. Scientists began to argue among themselves about the place of Flores man in the evolutionary tree of primates.
Liang Bua Cave on the Indonesian island of Flores. Source: wikipedia.org
Some anthropologists believed that the Flores man was a descendant of Homo erectus, who was isolated from the rest of the world on the island of Flores and was unable to grow due to a lack of resources. They were born with short stature from generation to generation for several hundred years until they died out completely. Scientists still do not know why the Flores man disappeared.
Other scientists were inclined to believe that Homo floresiensis was not a separate species. In their opinion, the woman found in the Liang Bua cave belonged to the Homo sapiens species, but simply suffered from microcephaly. This is the name of a condition in which the size of the skull and brain is significantly reduced in humans. The causes of microcephaly can be different, including intrauterine infections such as rubella, toxoplasmosis, and so on.
Skull of Florensky man. Source: wikipedia.org
Numerous studies have shown that the ancient “hobbits” did not suffer from microcephaly. Then some scientists began to insist that the people of Flores Island had cretinism due to iodine deficiency or that they had dwarfism. But many did not want to admit that the Flores people were a new species of ancient man.
Read also: Scientists have found an “underground city” in which ancient people lived
Remains of a new species of ancient people
Basically, they did not want to classify the Flores people as a separate species because scientists were able to find only one skeleton. We are talking about the same Flo from the Liang Bua cave.
But recently, at the site of Mata Menge, which is located about 74 kilometers from the Liang Bua cave, scientists found other fossilized jaws, skull fragments, and teeth. According to Interesting Engineering, they belonged to people as small as the Flo woman. Anthropologists even suggested that the inhabitants of Mata Menge were shorter, that is, they could not grow taller than one meter.
New bones of ancient “hobbits”. Source: interestingengineering.com
Scientists were also surprised by the fact that the age of the remains was about 700 thousand years. That is, the ancient “hobbits” lived on the island of Flores much longer than previously thought. Of course, the ancient people were not sitting idly by all this time. Next to the skeletons, scientists found many bones of stegodons (extinct ancestors of elephants), rodents and even Komodo dragons. The Flores people clearly hunted them, and these animals made up the main part of their diet.
Scientists believe that the “hobbits” somehow remained captive on the island of Flores. Due to a lack of certain nutrients or for some other reason, they were always short. They were able to get used to the conditions of the isolated island, but for unknown reasons they died out.
Scientists have to learn a lot of interesting things about the “hobbits” of Indonesia. Source: bhavanajagat.com
Based on everything written above, it turns out that the “hobbits” were indeed representatives of a separate species of ancient man. But the question of who they came from still remains open. Today, it is believed that the ancient people of the island of Flores are the ancestors of Homo erectus or Homo habilis.
If we learn something new about the ancient “hobbits”, we will definitely talk about we'll tell them. Subscribe to our Zen channel so you don't miss out.
Scientists have a lot of work ahead. The fact is that today they cannot even understand how Flores man decreased in size so quickly. He was half the size of Homo erectus, and he also had half the brain volume.