Homo floresiensis

About Homo floresiensis: 

• They are a species of small archaic human that inhabited the Indonesian island of Flores around 60,000 years ago.
• They are nicknamed as ‘Hobbit’ and have so far only been found on the Island of Flores.
• The fossils of H. floresiensis date to between about 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, and stone tools made by this species date to between about 190,000 and 50,000 years old. 
• Features:
  • Appearance: H. floresiensis individuals stood approximately 3 feet 6 inches tall, had tiny brains, large teeth for their small size, shrugged-forward shoulders, no chins, receding foreheads, and relatively large feet due to their short legs.
  • Tools used: Despite their small body and brain size, they made and used stone tools, hunted small elephants and large rodents, coped with predators such as giant Komodo dragons, and may have used fire.
  • The diminutive stature and small brain of them may have resulted from island dwarfism (an evolutionary process that results from long-term isolation on a small island with limited food resources and a lack of predators).
  • The smallest known species of Homo and Stegodon elephant are both found on the island of Flores, Indonesia. 

Q1: What is Dwarfism?

It refers to a group of conditions characterised by shorter than normal skeletal growth. This shortness can be manifested in the arms and legs or trunk.

Source: Tinier arm shows scientists where early humans’ ‘Hobbit’ cousins came from — Nature study

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