Recent discoveries in Flores, Indonesia, have uncovered evidence of a very small ancient human species. The discovery of a tiny upper arm bone fragment strengthens the theory of a miniature human species that once inhabited the island, similar to the “hobbit” in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. This research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The "hobbit," or Homo floresiensis, a species of ancient humans with a height of about three and a half feet (1.07 meters), were first discovered in Liang Bua cave, Flores, Indonesia, in 2003. This discovery revealed a species of ancient humans with body size significantly smaller than modern humans.
These ancient humans, who lived contemporaneously with Homo sapiens in other regions (Australia), had a height of about 107 cm and a small brain. Another notable physical characteristic is their large teeth relative to their tiny body size. Unfortunately, the origins of this unique species remain a mystery to scientists due to the limited fossils found.
The origins of Homo floresiensis are still debated among experts. Some theories suggest that Homo floresiensis evolved from larger ancient human species, such as Homo erectus, which experienced a reduction in body size due to adaptation to island environments. However, others propose that the "hobbit" are descendants of a more ancient and smaller human species from Africa.
New Surprising Findings
Researchers have found additional ancient human fossils at the Mata Menge site, 75 km east of Liang Bua. These fossils include a jaw fragment and six teeth estimated to be 700,000 years old and have smaller jaws and teeth than Homo floresiensis. This finding indicates that the small body traits of Homo floresiensis may have evolved earlier than previously thought.
In addition to earlier fossils, scientists have now identified three more fossils, including the smallest upper arm bone ever discovered. These fossils, dating back approximately 700,000 years, suggest that the average height of an adult Homo floresiensis was only about 100 cm, 6 cm shorter than the skeleton found at Liang Bua.
Yousuke Kaifu, one of the lead researchers, expressed the surprise and excitement felt by the team upon identifying the upper arm bone as belonging to an adult Homo floresiensis. Initially, the bone was suspected to be from a child due to its extremely small size. However, the analysis proved otherwise, providing strong evidence for the existence of a miniature ancient human species in Flores.
Mystery of Body Size Evolution
The phenomenon of 'island dwarfism' is often proposed as an explanation for the extremely small stature of Homo floresiensis. This theory suggests that isolated island species tend to experience body size changes, with larger species becoming smaller and vice versa. However, the case of Homo floresiensis presents a mystery.
While this theory can generally explain their small body size, it does not fully account for why this species experienced such a rapid reduction in size after diverging from their larger ancestor, Homo erectus.
Scientists are still working to understand the body size variation seen in Homo floresiensis fossils. Differences in size might be due to factors like sex and natural variation within the population. Additionally, the unique island environment at the time may have conferred advantages to individuals with smaller body sizes.
However, why this species maintained its small body size for such a long time while other human species on other continents underwent significant evolution remains an intriguing mystery to solve.
