In 2003, skeletal remains of seven individuals were uncovered in the Liang Bua limestone cave on Flores, in Indonesia. These remains were only partially fossilized; they had the consistency of “wet blotting paper.” The remains showed that these adult humans were remarkably small, on the order of one meter tall. The Australian scientists who made the discovery dubbed the finds Homo Floresienses. What do these finds mean?
The initial report indicated that this was a new species entirely, descended from Homo Erectus, while Homo Sapiens branched off in a different direction. The finds were dated approximately 18,000 years ago. The scientists speculated that this “hobbit” evolved from normally-sized Homo Erectus that reached the island some 840,000 years ago. The Homo Floresienses seems to have had a fairly sophisticated culture involving hunting big game with stone tools, and using fire.
However, as is the case with all new discoveries in the field, there is considerable controversy surrounding this discovery. Indonesian archaeologists that were also members of the team dispute a number of the conclusions of the Australians. They believe that the finds are only 1,300 to 1,800 years old, and are members of the Australomelanesid race of Homo Sapiens. They explain the small skeletal size as the product of inciter evolution in a restricted population, similar to the pygmies of Africa.
Others believe that the small brain size is an example of microcephaly, a genetic disorder causing a lower brain/body ratio. Many dimensions of the face, nose, and jaws are similar to modern humans, but the braincase is not. A similar skull was found in Crete, dating from the Minoan period, that has long been recognized as microcephalic. There have been several articles discussing the potential microcephalic nature of the LB1 skull from both sides of the argument, but no definite conclusion has been reached.
Whatever the final verdict, this skeleton definitely has more similarities to the Homo Erectus than to modern Homo Sapiens. It is probable that the “ Flores man” evolved from Homo Erectus because of the isolation of the gene pool and the peculiar climate, accenting the traits of that segment of the Homo Erectus species. Apparently, the environment and gene pool both favored smaller humans.
Another interesting facet is the numerous myths of the natives of Flores involving a very small human-like creature, known as the Ebu Gogo. They were said to be about one meter tall, pot-bellied, and covered in hair. The people of Flores hold that these were still alive on the island as recently as 300 years ago. Whether these stories can be verified remains to be seen, but definitely throws an interesting light on the case.
Homo Floresienses illustrates the changeable nature of human anthropology. The discoverers of a new and different skeleton always endeavor to make their discovery as important as possible, while the rest of the community must dampen their ardor, and try to make a logical analysis of the find.
Where the “ Flores man” fits in human evolution remains to be seen, as more work must be done before a firm conclusion can be reached. It seems that primarily, Homo Floresienses is an excellent example of what environment and restricted gene pool can do to the physical characteristics of an isolated segment of the human population.