A still-unexplained part of this mystery is the occurrence of pygmy mammoth fossils in the Channel Islands off the California coast. The attached article speculates that a population of larger mammoths was isolated on what later became the islands due to rises in sea level caused by Pleistocene "global warming." They probably evolved into pygmies in order to survive on smaller food resources. Pygmy Mammoth
“pygmy mammoth fossils on California coastal islands”
Pygmy elephant remains were also found on the island of Flores, where the tiny Hobbit human remains were found, both probably small for the same reason.
20 posted on 09/04/2008 11:11:12 PM PDT by gleeaikin