The ancestors of the “hobbits,” the tiny human species discovered in Indonesia 20 years ago, were likely even shorter than previously thought, according to fresh estimates.
The original hobbit fossils, dating back to 60,000 to 100,000 years ago, were nicknamed “hobbits” due to their estimated height of 3 1/2 feet. However, a study published in Nature reveals that fossils unearthed at a site called Mata Menge, located near the original discovery site, point to even smaller ancestors.
“We did not expect that we would find smaller individuals from such an old site,” said Yousuke Kaifu, co-author of the study, was quoted as saying.
Analysis of a tiny arm bone fragment and teeth, dating back 700,000 years, suggests these ancestors were about 2.4 inches shorter than the later hobbits, named Homo floresiensis after the island of Flores.
Researchers are still debating how the hobbits evolved their small stature and where they fit within the human evolutionary story. They are thought to be among the last of the early human species to go extinct.
The new findings raise further questions about the origins of the hobbits. Scientists are unsure whether they descended from Homo erectus, a taller early human species known to have lived in the area, or from an even more primitive human predecessor.
More research and fossil discoveries are needed to fully understand the hobbits’ place in human evolution, according to anthropologist Matt Tocheri of Lakehead University.
