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Source: Cover News

Cover News reporter Yan Wenwen

Twenty years ago, scientists discovered the fossil of an early human species on an Indonesian island that was about 1.07 meters tall, earning it the nickname "Hobbit."

Now a new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that the hobbits' ancestors were smaller and roamed an Indonesian island 700,000 years ago.

Why were early humans only one meter tall so short?

In 2003, paleoanthropologists discovered the remains of an individual of an early human species in the Liang Bua Cave on Flores Island, Indonesia. Because it was found on Flores Island, it was named Flores Man. However, because the fossil of this early human was very small, paleoanthropologists estimated that its height was 1.07 meters, so it was nicknamed after the popular movie "The Hobbit" at the time.

Experts hold the hand bones of Flores Man (Photo courtesy of Professor Yousuke Kaifu)

As of 2015, partial skeletons of 15 individuals, including a complete skull, have been found. In 2016, paleoanthropologists discovered a site called Mata Mongge, 72 kilometers from the Liang Bua site. In this site, paleoanthropologists found a hand bone that was only 8.8 cm long.

There are many disputes among scholars about this hand bone. Some scholars believe that this bone belongs to a minor, so it is smaller than ordinary bones. However, according to the latest research conclusions, this small bone comes from an adult, and based on the bone, its owner is likely to be only about 1 meter tall and lived 700,000 years ago.

"We didn't expect to find smaller individuals in such an ancient site," said study co-author Yousuke Kaifu of the University of Tokyo.

Researchers have debated how Homo floresiensis evolved to be so short and where it fits in human evolutionary history. They are thought to be one of the last early human species to go extinct.

In addition to its small size, Homo floresiensis also had a very small brain: Based on the skull found, the brain volume is estimated to be 380 cubic centimeters, which is comparable to the brain size of chimpanzees or the extinct Australopithecus.

Or the first ape to leave Africa

What position did Homo floresiensis occupy in the evolution of human beings?

Due to the deep waters of the adjacent Lombok Strait, Flores remained an isolated island during periods of low sea levels. Therefore, the ancestors of Flores people could only have reached the island by sea, most likely by drifting. The oldest stone tools on Flores are more than 1 million years old. The absence of stone tools in sites older than 1.27 million years suggests that the ancestors of Flores people arrived after that.

According to paleoanthropologists, Flores people separated from the modern human lineage very early, probably before or shortly after the evolution of Homo habilis between 1.96 million and 1.66 million years ago. In 2009, American anthropologist William Jungs and his colleagues found that the feet of Flores people had several primitive features, and they may be descendants of an earlier species than Homo erectus.

In 2015, anthropologists used Bayesian analysis to find that Flores people were most similar to Australopithecus sediba, Homo habilis, and primitive Georgian Homo erectus. Therefore, they boldly proposed the possibility that the ancestors of Flores people left Africa before Homo erectus appeared, and may even be the first ape to leave Africa.

However, some scholars believe that the morphology of the humerus of the early Flores people unearthed from the Matamonge site is more similar to that of another early human, the Naledi people, rather than the Australopithecus species.

The extinction of Homo floresiensis is related to the ancestor of humanity, Homo sapiens. Some scholars believe that Homo floresiensis existed on the island of Flores for a long time and then disappeared shortly after Homo sapiens is known to have established a presence in the area. This does not seem to be a coincidence.

Further reading: "The Hobbit" has caused controversy

Homo floresiensis was soon dubbed "the hobbit" by its discoverers, a nickname taken from the fictional race popularized by JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, and some discoverers suggested naming the species H. hobbitus.

In October 2012, a New Zealand scientist was preparing to give a public lecture on Homo floresiensis, but was told by the Tolkien estate that he was not allowed to use the word "hobbit" when promoting his lecture.

In 2012, The Asylum, an American film studio that produces low-budget "copycat" films, planned to release a film called The Age of the Hobbits, which depicted a "peaceful" community of Homo floresiensis, "enslaved by the Jawas (a species of carnivorous dragon riders)". The film was intended to capitalize on the success of Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The film was banned from release due to a legal dispute over the use of the word "hobbit". The Asylum argued that the film did not infringe on Tolkien's copyright because the film was about Homo floresiensis, "who are collectively known in scientific circles as 'hobbits'". The film was later renamed A Clash of Empires.