The “hobbit” evolved separate to humans
July 31st, 2009 - 3:35 pm ICT by ANISydney, July 31 (ANI): A new research by Australian scientists has said that the bones of the “hobbit”, found in Indonesia, suggest that the species is not related to homo sapiens, and evolved separate to humans.
Discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 and dubbed ‘the Hobbit’, the species triggered a worldwide debate about its origins.
In particular, a hard-core cadre of critics said that the skeleton was that of a human who was suffering from microcephaly - a disorder in which the head is much smaller than normal - limiting its brain to 417 cm3, a third the size of the average human brain.
Now, according to a report in www.news.com.au, researchers based in Canberra and Wollongong set to work on a “hobbit”‘ skeleton found on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004, using new cladistic analysis.
It compares the forms of organisms to determine ancestral relationships - the first time it was used on this set of homo floresiensis bones.
The results were surprising.
Anthropologist Debbie Argue concluded that the bones diverged from the Homo sapiens evolutionary line nearly two million years ago, meaning that it did not share an immediate ancestor with modern humans.
The homo floresiensis bones have previously been dismissed as the remains of a sick human or near-human impacted by environmental factors.
“(The results) suggests that H. floresiensis was not a sick modern human, not even a very close relative,” Dr Argue said.
It would then also dispute the theory that Homo sapiens were the only hominin around after the Neanderthals, she added. (ANI)
- 'Hobbit' was 'iodine-deficient human, not another species' - Sep 29, 2010
- Humans and 'hobbits' may have existed together - Aug 04, 2009
- 'Hobbits' were normal, not malformed humans - Jun 28, 2010
- 'Hobbit' a genuine ancient human species, say scientists - Nov 21, 2009
- Fossils of giant bird discovered on 'hobbit' island of Flores - Dec 08, 2010
- Geneticists to drill 18,000-year-old 'hobbit' tooth to extract DNA - Jan 06, 2011
- 'Hobbit' was a dwarf with large feet - May 07, 2009
- First-ever cast of Hobbit to be unveiled on April 21 - Mar 24, 2009
- Neanderthals used boats much before modern humans - Mar 01, 2012
- Fossils show mysterious human species lived 30,000 years ago - Dec 23, 2010
- Modern humans not uniquely evolved species - Sep 06, 2011
- The Hobbit's small brain was not unusual in comparison to other primates - Jan 27, 2010
- Four new species discovered may shed light on human evolution - Apr 23, 2011
- Hobbit may represent an entirely new species - Dec 18, 2008
- New study suggests earliest humans were not very different from us - Feb 15, 2011
Tags: ancestor, anthropologist, australian scientists, canberra, cladistic analysis, environmental factors, evolutionary line, hard core, hobbit, hominin, homo floresiensis, human brain, indonesian island, island of flores, million years, neanderthals, skeleton, two million, wollongong, worldwide debate
