Indonesian 'Hobbits' may have died out sooner than thought

Phys dot org ^ | March 30, 2016 | Griffith University

[SunkenCiv]

An ancient species of pint-sized humans discovered in the tropics of Indonesia may have met their demise earlier than once believed, according to an international team of scientists who reinvestigated the original finding.

Published in the journal Nature this week, the group challenges reports that these inhabitants of remote Flores island co-existed with modern humans for tens of thousands of years.

They found that the youngest age for Homo floresiensis, dubbed the 'Hobbit', is around 50,000 years ago not between 13,000 and 11,000 years as initially claimed.

Led by Indonesian scientists and involving researchers from Griffith University's Research Centre of Human Evolution (RCHE) the team found problems with prior dating efforts at the cave site, Liang Bua.

"In fact, Homo floresiensis seems to have disappeared soon after our species reached Flores, suggesting it was us who drove them to extinction," says Associate Professor Maxime Aubert, a geochronologist and archaeologist at RCHE, who with RCHE's Director Professor Rainer measured the amount of uranium and thorium inside Homo floresiensis fossils to test their age. "The science is unequivocal," Aubert said.

"The youngest Hobbit skeletal remains occur at 60,000 years ago but evidence for their simple stone tools continues until 50,000 years ago. After this there are no more traces of these humans."

While excavating at the limestone cave of Liang Bua in 2003, archaeologists found bones from diminutive humans unlike any people alive today. The researchers concluded the tiny cave dwellers evolved from an older branch of the human family that had been marooned on Flores for at least a million years. It was thought that this previously unknown population lived on Flores until about 12,000 years ago.

[Texan5]

That cover is not the subtle satire I was referring to-it is broad satire that maybe even snowflakes get-or not...

There was plenty of both types of humor in that magazine-Underwear for the Deaf fake ads, etc-one of my favs was Wonder Warthog...

[Texan5]

That one never quite reached the level of satire that the Harvard one did, but it did have some good stuff.

[Pelham]

IIRC National Lampoon was spawned by the Harvard Lampoon.

And both had some connection with the original Saturday Night Live crew. Great time for humor.

[Pelham]

I just posted that cover because it always makes me laugh.

[Pelham]

"There was plenty of both types of humor in that magazine-Underwear for the Deaf fake ads, etc-one of my favs was Wonder Warthog..."

This one?

[Texan5]

That’s him-the scourge of those riding imported Fastass Sumbichis...

[SunkenCiv]

Doug Kenney, perhaps best known for the "ya mo-ron" line in "Animal House", co-founded it, the three founders licensed in the "lampoon" part of the name from the HL (which is quite old, I think Saul Bellow used to write for it in his youth), and they hit the big time with this fake ad, which was on the back cover of their "Encyclopedia of Humor", two copies (in succession, one was confiscated thanks to an idiot classmate) were among the prized possessions of my early teens:

[SunkenCiv]

One of their Christmas issues had a cover illustration showing Santa, pants down, deranged look on his face, as he proceeded to take a dump down someone's chimney, and the caption was, "You're Lucky! He Came Down Ours!"

[Texan5]

I remember that one-and the double entendre-there was a full page ad for “Lady Baireal” hair color in one issue that used similar sexual innuendo.

[Pelham]

Doug Kenney- I do remember the name. Just checked wikipedia and was astounded to see that he died in 1980. We sure lost some funny people of that era way too soon.