{psst! the 'research' is BS}
Posted on 02/17/2016 9:02:35 PM PST by Utilizer
Diminutive humans that died out on an Indonesian island some 15,000 years ago were not Homo sapiens but a different species, according to a study published Monday that dives into a fierce anthropological debate.
Fossils of Homo floresiensis--dubbed "the hobbits" due to their tiny stature--were discovered on the island of Flores in 2003.
Controversy has raged ever since as to whether they are an unknown branch of early humans or specimens of modern man deformed by disease.
The new study, based on an analysis of the skull bones, shows once and for all that the pint-sized people were not Homo sapiens, according to the researchers.
Until now, academic studies have pointing in one direction or another--and scientific discourse has sometimes tipped over into acrimony.
One school of thought holds that so-called Flores Man descended from the larger Homo erectus and became smaller over hundreds of generations.
The proposed process for this is called "insular dwarfing"--animals, after migrating across land bridges during periods of low sea level, wind up marooned on islands as oceans rise and their size progressively diminishes if the supply of food declines.
An adult hobbit stood a metre (three feet) tall, and weighed about 25 kilos (55 pounds).
Similarly, Flores Island was also home to a miniature race of extinct, elephant-like creatures called Stegodon.
But other researchers argue that H. floresiensis was in fact a modern human whose tiny size and small brain--no bigger than a grapefruit--was caused by a genetic disorder.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
References, please? :)
All I want to know is whether the “hobbits” rode the miniature elephants.
I don’t think so. That wouldn’t make sense to me either.
Thanks U, will ping later.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=3398555%2C0
related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3220512/posts
I think I liked best his it represented ordinary people grappling with the reality and bizarreness of ETs and UFOs. They were surprised and curious, yet also accepting. Mostly the first half of the movie. Of course there were some spooky scenes, like the lights rising up behind the stalled truck. But that was humorously done, too. I just liked it all. And of course the mashed potatoes scene...
Thanks, mate. Did not remember the thread from a couple of years ago you referenced. Good links and more info that I found most interesting so hopefully will result in more background so we can discuss this topic much more fully in the days to come.
Perhaps if you peruse the article you will find more information than was available back then, ‘ay? :)
Cheers!
I do appreciate the topic and ping, and will ping the GGG list a bit later.
That episode was hilarious!
And while they found evidence of minor maladies, there was nothing corresponding to the major genetic diseases other researchers had pointed to.
But if one part of the mystery may be solved, another remains intact.
For while the scientists could not exclude the possibility that the "hobbit" was a scaled-down version of Homo erectus, which arrived on the neighbouring island of Java some million years ago, nor could they be sure that H. floresiensis was not a species it its own right.
"For the moment, we can't say one way or the other," Balzeau said.
Circular research.
“You really should read the article more closely”
That would violate Freeper protocol.
Yep. See post 14.
Well, you could google "Pygmies." Those in the DR Congo were frequently eaten during the civil war there.
Indeed.
The “research” doesn’t even mention a vital hobbit characteristic....hairy feet.
Wizards are Maiar from the blessed realm.
And there was no mention of the Nosethinger, oops, I mean NoseFinger family. [geek stumper of the day]
Or Goodgulf, Tudor and Fordor battling up the flanks of Mt. Badass.
LOL! (ding ding ding) We have a winner!
:-)
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