Free Republic

Scientists digging in the Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores years ago found a tiny humanlike skull, then a pelvis, jaw and other bones, all between 60,000 and 100,000 years old. The fossils, the scientists concluded, belonged to individuals who stood just three feet tall — an unknown species, related to modern humans, that they called Homo floresiensis or, more casually, the hobbits. On Wednesday, researchers reported that they had discovered still older remains on the island, including teeth, a piece of a jaw and 149 stone tools dating back 700,000 years. The finding suggests that the...

YVOIR, Belgium- Marie Alem and nine other Pygmies came to Belgium two months ago and built a traditional village, complete with huts and life-size figures at a private nature park. They showed videos about Pygmy life, played music and sometimes performed dances for visitors in return for a cut of the admission fee. The Pygmies say their goal was to bring in money to pay for wells, schools and hospitals for their Baka tribe back home in Cameroon. What they and the park have mostly drawn is a storm of criticism. For many Belgians, recalling the country's sometimes brutal colonial...