Eye on Science, Science Blog, Michael D. Lemonick, TIME

September 20, 2007 2:49

New Information on Hobbits

Posted by Michael Lemonick | Comments (43) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

Not Hobbits, really, but "hobbits," a race of diminutive humans whose bones were uncovered in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004. Their miniature stature was explained by a phenomenon known as "island dwarfing," in which large mammals tend to get smaller when they live on isolated islands (modern examples include water buffalo and elephants—so that wasn't particularly exciting.

But the find was sensational, because while the remains were only about 13,000 years old, they had characteristics of Homo erectus—a distant human ancestor that was thought to have disappeared at least half a million years ago. Finding a long-extinct species that survived almost until moder times (and who knows if these bones were from the last survivors?) would completely overturn existing ideas about human evolution.

I wrote about the discovery in TIME when it first happened. But since then, a controversy has raged between those who support the original theory about what the hobbits were, and those who think they were really just ordinary homo sapiens who had some sort of deformities.

Now comes a report in Science that appears to strengthen the original theory: an international team of scientists, led by the Smithsonian Institution, has analyzed the wrist bones of the tiny creatures, and says that they look nothing like those of modern humans, or even of Neanderthals, but rather resemble the wristbones of African apes and our earliest human ancestors--earlier, even than Homo erectus.

It's an easy trap to fall into when looking at scientific evidence to want the more exciting, exotic interpretation to be true, and so I have to try and resist that impulse in myself. But...I kind of want this to be true, so I'll grasp at this particular straw until I'm proven wrong. For now, the idea that primitive human ancestors walked the Earth just yesterday (in the grand scheme of evolution), is still alive. I hope it stays that way.

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Reader Comments (43)

Saint Andeol:

i think the real question is: can "hobbit" be the official scientific name for these little guys? i'm guessing a lot of scientists are nerds like i am, and i think that's a great idea, so they should too. we could call them Homo hobbitus.

also, this is a great way to get the everday person interested in an important scientific discovery. we've got an entire generation of kids who've rediscovered Tolkien's work through these newfangled movies, we should be taking advantage of that popularity to renew public interest in science.

just don't call them kender.

--Kender? What's that?
M.L.

Posted by Saint Andeol | September 20, 2007 3:31 PM

KB:

Kender is a hobbit-like race from a series of books set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe.

Oh and get ready to start the Creationism versus Evolution all over again...

--I'm always ready for that. And thanks for the education.
M.L.

Posted by KB | September 20, 2007 4:27 PM

Saint Andeol:

yeah, that was me flexing my nerd muscle. the books were called the Dragonlance chronicles. kind of a poor man's Lord of the Rings.

but about the hobbits, if such remains could be found one place, maybe there are other lost island communities waiting to be found out there. probably not too many, but maybe a couple.

maybe if we find an island with slightly different small people, we can call THEM kender. then we can tell them apart, and everyone wins.

Posted by Saint Andeol | September 20, 2007 5:10 PM

THOMAS BILLIS:

They always give those finds names I submit MickeyRoonius or Rizzutto man.

Posted by THOMAS BILLIS | September 20, 2007 5:25 PM

popslashgirl:

I've been following this story for a while and I'm incredibly excited. If it proves to be true, I think it's going to completely change the paradigm for how we consider and research human evolution.

There was a comment by one of the scientists involved--I can't remember where I read it, maybe on Newsweek's website--that described how this discovery is going to completely change the playing field for paleoanthropology. His point was, areas with sediments that were always considered too "recent" for there to be any useful hominid remains are going to be valid areas for potential research. Plus the path of Homo floriensis has to be traced from Africa to Indonesia, somehow, which means that there are almost certainly more fossils out there in southeast Asia.

And we can now start redefining--again--what exactly it means to be "human" versus "hominid" versus "ape-like", which always means a good time for all. (heh)

--You and I think EXACTLY alike.
M.L.

Posted by popslashgirl | September 21, 2007 9:16 AM

Ben Bonsens:

Popslashgirl,

Do you think this will finally win Robin Andreasan and her Clade Model over to the rest of anthropology?

Posted by Ben Bonsens | September 21, 2007 7:01 PM

Yadgyu:

This is not exciting news. All it really proves is that the paths of evolution are infinitely more complex and dynamic than we imagined.

Human evolution really does NOT prove that one species was stronger than the others and that the species that did not survive were inferior.

Think of this as what if all of the possible ancestors of humans lived in all of the different environments and climates on Earth at the same time? Who is to say that humans as they are today would be how they are today?

There was no control in evolution, meaning that our common ancestors may have been lucky and been at the right place at the right time. Maybe if the hobbit was at the right place at the right time and our common ancestors were at the wrong place at the wrong time, the hobbits would be today's humans. Think about it.

--I don't know about you, but I find it exciting when the natural world proves to be more creative than we had imagined.
M.L.

Posted by Yadgyu | September 25, 2007 6:01 PM

Amanda Meyers:

I agree with both Yadgyu and Popslashgirl. It is all very exciting and draining, but the process of discovery is never ending anyway. Why stop and assume evolution will never become more complex? I think its not only exciting, but AMAZING. We will never be bored.

Posted by Amanda Meyers | September 25, 2007 6:28 PM

13enster:

Dr. Spock says they are hobbits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04

Posted by 13enster | September 28, 2007 10:38 AM

tj johnson:

TJ Johnson: I think that scientists should continue to dig for a good explanation as to why the species are so closely related and if there is any truth to the "hobbits". This would be a great breakthrough for scientists! One species being stronger than the other isn't as exciting as someone who can fnally say that humanity has discovered a break through. The question is..will our humanity ever beome more than just speculation and hope?

Posted by tj johnson | October 3, 2007 12:20 PM

Ashley:

Forgive me, but I think there's a subtle irony in the following two quotes from your blogs placement so close to one another:

"You ask people to be open to opposing views, but many think your acceptance of Biblical creationism is about as poorly founded as the examples I quoted above. ...I can make sense of creationism with today's evidence too. I can just say "whatever it is, God did it." But that's hardly an explanation."

"It's an easy trap to fall into when looking at scientific evidence to want the more exciting, exotic interpretation to be true, and so I have to try and resist that impulse in myself. But...I kind of want this to be true, so I'll grasp at this particular straw until I'm proven wrong. For now, the idea that primitive human ancestors walked the Earth just yesterday (in the grand scheme of evolution), is still alive. I hope it stays that way."

Expanded:

I find it ironic that grasping at evolutionary straws is acceptable and even laudable, but that grasping at similar straws that imply creation is laughable and similar to alien abductions and conspiracy theorists...

Double standard much?

--Actually, no, on two levels. First, I'm talking about one particular claim about one particular species, within the context of a richly supported theory. If it turns out to be wrong, the theory isn't even scratched--and indeed, it would be really be surprising if it were (see above under "richly supported." Hoping that the entire theory is wrong because it conflicts with some religious prejudice that's entirely unsupported by the facts is kind of different.
Hope that helps.
M.L.

Posted by Ashley | October 5, 2007 10:39 AM

Brad:

[Double standard much?]

Not really.

[...so I'll grasp at this particular straw until I'm proven wrong.]

The difference is that what ML is willing to believe *can* be proven to be wrong.

--Right, and I'm willing to change my understanding based on new evidence. I'd be very surprised if Creationists would do the same.

Posted by Brad | October 5, 2007 11:20 AM

Ashley:

Theoretically, so can Creation... it just hasn't been proven wrong yet.

The difference is merely the starting point. Do you view evolution science as the demise of creation science or do you view both of them as a means to discovering the greater truths behind them, or to be learned through them?

As someone who believes in creation, I don't feel threatened by Evolutionary science, nor do I want to be a threat to Evolution scientists. It does irritate me, though, when people get up on their high horse backed by theoretical hypotheses and tell me I'm a moron because I don't agree with them 100%, when even they can't stand behind their research 100% without some kind of faith or hope. I also find it frustrating that many dogmatic Evolutionists refuse to acknowledge their Dogma. At least Creationists are upfront about the biases they hold.

Bias leads to inconsistency on both sides.

--Pure nonsense. Creationists would not under any circumstances give up belief in God. People who support evolution do so not because of dogma but because there's an overwhelming mountain of fact supporting it, and essentially no evidence against it. If you managed to find good evidence against it, they'd change their minds.
M.L.

Posted by Ashley | October 5, 2007 11:40 AM

Brad:

[people]

[Theoretically, so can Creation... it just hasn't been proven wrong yet.]

It also hasn't been proven right, yet. Without an experiement to test it, a theory is not supported in the scientific community (i.e. String Theory).

[their]

[they]

[their research]

[some kind]

[many]

[their Dogma]

[they hold]

Generalising isn't exactly nice, you know.

[At least Creationists are upfront about the biases they hold.]

So is Richard Dawkins (just making a point).

[Bias leads to inconsistency on both sides.]

I completely agree.

Posted by Brad | October 5, 2007 1:56 PM

Saint Andeol:

dang, it's like now that we've reached 1,000 comments on the creationism post, it's spilling over into the other posts!!

has anyone seen that big comment in what i believe is Portuguese on the sabertooth post? he's talking about Dawkins and the existence of "Deus". it's madness, i tell you!

Posted by Saint Andeol | October 7, 2007 3:36 PM

Brad:

Yeah, apparently I missed quite a bit over the weekend. FYI, I'm pretty sure Taciana is a feminine name. Anyway, I intend to take a shot a translating later, but no promises, okay? Its been over a year since I've flexed my foreign language, and that was Spanish, not Portuguese. If I start to write funny, don't panic: translating tends to upset my sense of spelling.

Posted by Brad | October 8, 2007 9:21 AM

Forest:

We know for certain that several genera and various sub-species of hominids coexisted on Earth for virtually all of the past 6-8 million years. How they interacted in the evolution of Homo sapiens?...we are only just now beginning to work that out.

It should not seem remarkable, in light of this reality, that such a condition should have persisted (especially in isolated locations) up to very recent times (10,000 years ago) or even until now.

The environment of the planet has been relatively mild during the period that these marginalized populations drifted down to small numbers...and they were pretty sharp players. They might well have found a place to hide.

Posted by Forest | October 21, 2007 5:29 PM

Steen:

Ashley, creationism is not science, it is wishful thinking and "just because I say so" postulations. They claim are not subject to evaluation by the Scientific Method, and when they have been evaluated as such, are found to not be supported.

Posted by Steen | November 8, 2007 2:11 AM

Roy:

Here You go again why do the small people have to be some evolutionary fluke ? Lets find out about the Smithsonian supressing information on prehistory North American giants which were over 7ft tall.

--Um...how do I say this politely? Let's not and say we did.
M.L.

Posted by Roy | December 4, 2007 7:31 PM

Henry T. Hill:

There is one great family of human kind

There is one great family of human kind
It started when we left the trees behind
Once on the ground with no branched safety net
We were left to our own devices and sweat
Language, tool-making, group hunting and fire
All were the skills we had to acquire.
The family and the clan, our knowledge too
Held us together and were the glue
Welcome Flores to our congregation
After alls said you are our relation.

--Someone actually copyrighted this. Amazing.
M.L.

Posted by Henry T. Hill | December 5, 2007 12:26 PM

Roy:

Island dwarfing ? Why are people from Samoa so big? Maybe they evolved from bigger Apes .An what did Apes evolve from?

--Um...Roy....different populations of modern populations didn't evolve from apes. They evolved from populations of less modern humans. You need to learn a lot more about human evolution if you want your questions to be intelligent ones.
M.L.

Posted by Roy | December 9, 2007 8:47 AM

Hobbit Fan:

That's curious facts. But it's hard to believe. Do you know where I can find more scientific information about hobbits?

--google knows all.
M.L.

Posted by Hobbit Fan | January 10, 2008 10:26 AM

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