Friday, May 19, 2006

Update on Hobbit Man

I posted links to articles a few months ago about "Hobbit man" and here's an update:
A new report released Thursday disputes scientists' claims that bones of a dwarf human discovered on an Indonesian island are those of an entirely new human species.

The 18,000 year old bones found on Flores Island in 2003 were given the scientific name Homo floresiensis, and the nickname "Hobbit" after the diminutive figures in JRR Tolkien's novel. Anthropologists from Australia and Indonesia said it was an entirely new human species derived from the primitive Homo erectus.

...But a group of scientists led by primatologist Robert Martin said in an article in Science magazines' May 19 issue that, far from being a new species, the bones were of Homo sapiens suffering from the pathological condition microcephaly, which results in small brain and body size.

Full article here.

The rebuttal from the scientists who made the original claims: "There WAS one ring to rule them all! I'm sure of it!"

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