'Hobbits' Not A Different Species, Say Scientists

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1-3-2008 | Roger Highfield

[MEGoody]

The work, if confirmed, suggests that there could be up to around 100 documented such "hobbits" in the world today, the people who have the mutation that leads to them being normally proportioned but half-sized.

Is this the Onion or Scrappleface? We've known about these "hobbits" for a long time. They used to be called midgets. (As opposed to dwarves who are not normally proportioned.)

[blam]

"I love the show Little People Big World."

BTW, Matt was found 'not guilty' of the DUI charge.

[Dustbunny]

Great, have to check and see when the new season starts.

[ZULU]

Leprechauns!!!!!

[Lil'freeper]

Hobbits are people, too.

[gleeaikin]

With water levels rising in the last 18,000 years, a small people would have been better able to use the food resources of a shrinking island.

[blam]

"With water levels rising in the last 18,000 years, a small people would have been better able to use the food resources of a shrinking island."

The island of Flores remained an island during the Ice Age too.(From all that I can find)

Something else I've been think about. The Toba eruption supposedly killed almost all humans on earth 75,000 years ago...in fact, the NG special I watched last night said that the only survivors were in East Africa and that these survivors from there repopulated the earth.

It looks like these 'Hobbits' survived the Toba eruption too and aren't part of the East African gene pool of 'modern' humans.(?)

[dragonblustar]

[SunkenCiv]

Seems like rising water would kill off the shorties first. ;’)