Hobbits Are A Separate Species!

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed May 06, 2009 6:19 pm

[url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8036396.stm"]Hobbits 'are a separate species'[/url]

Scientists have found more evidence that the Indonesian "Hobbit" skeletons belong to a new species of human - and not modern pygmies.

The 3ft (one metre) tall, 30kg (65lbs) humans roamed the Indonesian island of Flores, perhaps up to 8,000 years ago.

Since the discovery, researchers have argued vehemently as to the identity of these diminutive people.

Two papers in the journal Nature now support the idea they were an entirely new species of human.

The team, which discovered the tiny remains in Liang Bua cave on Flores, contends that the population belongs to the species Homo floresiensis - separate from our own grouping Homo sapiens .

They argue that the "Hobbits" are descended from a prehistoric species of human - perhaps Homo erectus - which reached island South-East Asia more than a million years ago.

Over many years, their bodies most likely evolved to be smaller in size, through a natural selection process called island dwarfing, claim the discoverers, and many other scientists.

However, some researchers argued that this could not account for the Hobbit's chimp-sized brain of almost 400 cubic cm - a third the size of the modern human brain.

Disease theory

This was a puzzle, they said, because the individuals seem to have crafted complex stone tools.

They said the Hobbits were probably part of a group of modern humans with abnormally small brains.

One team led by William Jungers from Stony Brook University in the US analysed remains of the Hobbit foot.

They found that, in some ways, it is incredibly human. The big toe is aligned with the others and the joints make it possible to extend the toes as the body's full weight falls on the foot, attributes not found in great apes.

But in other respects, it is incredibly primitive. It is far longer than its modern human equivalent, and equipped with a very small big toe, long, curved lateral toes, and a weight-bearing structure that resembles that of a chimpanzee.

So unless the Flores Hobbits became more primitive over time - a rather unlikely scenario - they must have branched off the human line at an even earlier date.

In another study, Eleanor Weston and Adrian Lister of London's Natural History Museum looked at fossils of several species of ancient hippos. They then compared those found on the island of Madagascar with the mainland ancestors from which they evolved.

"It could be that H. floresiensis' skull is that of a Homo erectus that has become dwarfed from living on an island, rather than being an abnormal individual or separately-evolved species, as has been suggested," said Dr Weston, a palaeontologist at the museum.

"Looking at pygmy hippos in Madagascar, which possess exceptionally small brains for their size, suggests that the same could be true for H. floresiensis , and that (it could be) the result of being isolated on the island."

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed May 06, 2009 6:46 pm

They said the Hobbits were probably part of a group of modern humans with abnormally small brains.

Quite a large group, most of whom survived and continue to exist, investing in state lotteries, running up huge credit card bills, watching Fox News, etc.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed May 06, 2009 7:29 pm

fable wrote:Quite a large group, most of whom survived and continue to exist, investing in state lotteries, running up huge credit card bills, watching Fox News, etc.

lol! And they probably have furry feet too....

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:06 pm

As long as they're taking the hobbits to isengard.

Beldin · Post by **Beldin** » Wed May 27, 2009 2:07 pm

fable wrote:watching Fox News, etc.

... and bomb Iraq ?

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed May 27, 2009 2:37 pm

Beldin wrote:... and bomb Iraq ?

Well, Bush always did call his attorney general and chief shill in the Department of Justice, Fredo.

Beldin · Post by **Beldin** » Fri May 29, 2009 12:15 am

fable wrote:Well, Bush always did call his attorney general and chief shill in the Department of Justice, Fredo.

...ant the Two Towers are standing in Langley and Washington ?

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:33 am

Beldin wrote: ...ant the Two Towers are standing in Langley and Washington ?

DC is just another branch of Mordor, Inc. Always brought to you in many exciting flavors.

penguin_king · Post by **penguin_king** » Fri May 29, 2009 4:01 pm

hobbits arent extinct at all! they just dont like 'big-folk'. theyre very sneaky and run away when we come.