New species of man discovered

[C Elegans]

A new, previously unknown species of man that lived as late as 18 000 years ago, has been discovered in Indonesia by an Australian paleoantropology team. The fossiles have been found on the island of Flores, and the newly discovered species have been named Homo Floresiensis

The most spectacular with this finding is that the fossiles show that Homo Floresiensis existed parallell to modern man until 18 000 years ago when it became extinct, which is 10 000 years later than the Neanderthals existed. Also, the Floresiensis was very small, only about a meter in height, and the brain was only about 380 cm^3.

The findings will be published in tomorrows Nature, the top scientific journal in the world, so I will not know any more details until then.

For now, all we know is what's in the news:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996588

[Brynn]

Wow, this is very interesting! Where is the Island of Flores?

One meter high? That's a child's size!

[C Elegans]

Tourist guide to Flores :
http://www.bali-travel-online.com/fl..._directory.htm

It's between Bali and Timor, south of Sulaweis, ie in the southern part of Indonesia.

The most amazing with the H. Floresiensis small size, is the brain. Body size can decrease relatively quick (in evolutionary terms) due to scarcity of food, but the brain? Highly interesting!

[Vicsun]

I feel quite ignorant asking this, but... what is the significance of the finding? Does it have any implication for any future research/past theories?

[C Elegans]

An extremely relevant question, Vicsun. The reason this finding is so hot is because

1. it alters the hitherto known structure or "map" of human evolution.
2. it shows that a hominoid could loose a lot of brain size without loosing much capacity - oh, how I wish soft tissue like brains could be preserved!

EDIT: It's at Nature's website now:
http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html

[C Elegans]

Ok, now I read the reports in Nature, here are some extracts:

Quote:

Nature 431, 1055 - 1061 (28 October 2004) A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia P. BROWN1, T. SUTIKNA2, M. J. MORWOOD1, R. P. SOEJONO2, JATMIKO2, E. WAYHU SAPTOMO2 & ROKUS AWE DUE2 1 Archaeology & Palaeoanthropology, School of Human & Environmental Studies, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia 2 Indonesian Centre for Archaeology, Jl. Raya Condet Pejaten No. 4, Jakarta 12001, Indonesia Currently, it is widely accepted that only one hominin genus, Homo, was present in Pleistocene Asia, represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Both species are characterized by greater brain size, increased body height and smaller teeth relative to Pliocene Australopithecus in Africa. Here we report the discovery, from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia, of an adult hominin with stature and endocranial volume approximating 1 m and 380 cm3, respectively?equal to the smallest-known australopithecines. The combination of primitive and derived features assigns this hominin to a new species, Homo floresiensis. The most likely explanation for its existence on Flores is long-term isolation, with subsequent endemic dwarfing, of an ancestral H. erectus population. Importantly, H. floresiensis shows that the genus Homo is morphologically more varied and flexible in its adaptive responses than previously thought. The LB1 skeleton was recovered in September 2003 during archaeological excavation at Liang Bua, Flores1. Most of the skeletal elements for LB1 were found in a small area, approximately 500 cm2, with parts of the skeleton still articulated and the tibiae flexed under the femora. Orientation of the skeleton in relation to site stratigraphy suggests that the body had moved slightly down slope before being covered with sediment. The skeleton is extremely fragile and not fossilized or covered with calcium carbonate. Recovered elements include a fairly complete cranium and mandible, right leg and left innominate. Bones of the left leg, hands and feet are less complete, while the vertebral column, sacrum, scapulae, clavicles and ribs are only represented by fragments. The position of the skeleton suggests that the arms are still in the wall of the excavation, and may be recovered in the future. Tooth eruption, epiphyseal union and tooth wear indicate an adult, and pelvic anatomy strongly supports the skeleton being that of a female. On the basis of its unique combination of primitive and derived features we assign this skeleton to a new species, Homo floresiensis. <snip> The endocranial volume, measured with mustard seed, is 380 cm3, well below the previously accepted range for the genus Homo7 and equal to the minimum estimates for Australopithecus8. The endocranial volume, relative to an indicator of body height (maximum femur length 280 mm), is outside the recorded hominin normal range (Fig. 3). Medially, laterally and basally, the cranial vault bone is thick and lies within the range of H. erectus and H. sapiens9, 10 (Supplementary Table 1 and Fig. 2). Reconstruction of the cranial vault, and CT scans, indicated that for most of the cranial vault the relative thickness of the tabular bone and diploë are similar to the normal range in H. erectus and H. sapiens. In common with H. erectus the vault in LB1 is relatively thickened posteriorly and in areas of pneumatization in the lateral cranial base. Thickened vault bone in LB1, relative to that in Australopithecus and early Homo2, results in a substantially reduced endocranial volume in comparison to Plio-Pleistocene hominins with similar external vault dimensions. <snip> Origins and evolution The LB1 skeleton was recovered from Flores, an island of 14,000 km2 east of the Wallace Line, in Indonesia. It combines extremely small stature and an endocranial volume in the early australopithecine range, with a unique mosaic of primitive and derived traits in the cranium, mandible and postcranial skeleton. Both its geographic location and comparatively recent date suggest models that differ to those for more expected geological contexts, such as Pliocene eastern Africa. Among modern humans, populations of extremely small average stature were historically found in predominantly rainforest habitat in the equatorial zone of Africa, Asia and Melanesia30, 31. Explanations for the small body size of these people generally focus on the thermoregulatory advantages for life in a hot and humid forest, either through evaporative cooling32 or reduced rates of internal heat production30. For African pygmies, smaller body size is the result of reduced levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) throughout the growth period33, or reduced receptivity to IGF-1 (ref. 34). Although adult stature is reduced, cranio-facial proportions remain within the range of adjacent larger-bodied populations, as does brain size35, 36. The combination of small stature and brain size in LB1 is not consistent with IGF-related postnatal growth retardation. Similarly, neither pituitary dwarfism, nor primordial microcephalic dwarfism (PMD) in modern humans replicates the skeletal features present in LB1 (refs 37?40). Other mechanisms must have been responsible for the small body size of these hominins, with insular dwarfing being the strongest candidate. Although small body size was an attribute of Pliocene australopithecines, the facial and dental characteristics of LB1 link it with larger-bodied Pleistocene Homo. In this instance, body size is not a direct expression of phylogeny. The location of these small hominins on Flores makes it far more likely that they are the end product of a long period of evolution on a comparatively small island, where environmental conditions placed small body size at a selective advantage. Insular dwarfing, in response to the specific ecological conditions that are found on some small islands, is well documented for animals larger than a rabbit41, 42. Explanations of the island rule have primarily focused on resource availability, reduced levels of interspecific competition within relatively impoverished faunal communities and absence of predators. It has been argued that, in the absence of agriculture, tropical rainforests offer a very limited supply of calories for hominins43. Under these conditions selection should favour the reduced energy requirements of smaller individuals. Although the details of the Pleistocene palaeoenvironment on Flores are still being documented, it is clear that until the arrival of Mesolithic humans the faunal suit was relatively impoverished, and the only large predators were the Komodo dragon and another larger varanid. Dwarfing in LB1 may have been the end product of selection for small body size in a low calorific environment, either after isolation on Flores, or another insular environment in southeastern Asia. <snip> Discussion <snip> On a related point, the survival of H. floresiensis into the Late Pleistocene shows that the genus Homo is morphologically more varied and flexible in its adaptive responses than is generally recognized. It is possible that the evolutionary history of H. floresiensis is unique, but we consider it more likely that, following the dispersal of Homo out of Africa, there arose much greater variation in the morphological attributes of this genus than has hitherto been documented. We anticipate further discoveries of highly endemic, hominin species in locations similarly affected by long-term genetic isolation, including other Wallacean islands.

[fable]

We anticipate further discoveries of highly endemic, hominin species in locations similarly affected by long-term genetic isolation, including other Wallacean islands.

I'll say. This is not only an exciting discovery in its own right, with enormous implications for human evolutionary theory, but also the beginning of what could prove a fascinating era of archaeological exploration. No doubt other skeletons,but also possibly implements and even dwelling sites will be unearthed.

[Paranitis]

Halflings Really Existed?! :d

[C Elegans]

@Fable: Yes, I am certainly looking forward to new findings! There is still a lot to find out about hominoid evolution

@Paranitis: The research team nicked them "hobbits"

[Vicsun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by C Elegans @Paranitis: The research team nicked them "hobbits"

Not to spam, but they lived in caves. And there were seven of them.

Obviously dwarves!

edit: so the post isn't 100% spam, I'll post a link to the national geographic and abcnews articles, in case someone is still thirsting for information.

[C Elegans]

@Vicsun: Spamming is allowed, I didn't put a "no spam" on this thread (ie I forgot it )

Do insular dwarwes count as dwarwes in AD&D?

[Galuf the Dwarf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by C Elegans @Vicsun: Spamming is allowed, I didn't put a "no spam" on this thread (ie I forgot it ) Do insular dwarves count as dwarves in AD&D?

Nah. We used t' call 'em 'bearded gnome hermits' back in the day. Yeah, back when the mead was strong and the caverns were uncarved stone...

Err... where were we? Oh, yeah...

It's amazing what discoveries are made about ancient humans. To think that the ice mummy from Italian Alps, named Otzi, showed us late-Ice Age (?) humans were far more than just hunters that used rocks and sticks. Some, like this mummy, knew how to make simple metal tools such as heads for tools and weapons, and they also made great use of plants for medicine, personal hygeine, and overall survival.

Note: ? = uncertain

[Silur]

I dont know about bearded, but I would agree on the Gnome classification. They're too delicately boned to be dwarves. Perhaps a colony of deep gnomes coming up through some vent.

[C Elegans]

@Galuf: Oetzi lived only about 5000 years ago, so he was exactly like ourselves. In the Alps, people were hunters and lived in tribal communities. At the same time in Mesopotamia, people already lived in cities and the wheel and the art of writing was invented. In Egypt, the earliest version of hieroglyphs were also invented, and the first pyramids were built shortly after. China and India were also advanced civilizations very early. We were a bit late here in the cold Europe

[Tower_Master]

Woah! Doesn't this throw some kinks into everyone's theories!

Ahh...real-world hobbits. What shall we come up with next?