Unclear origin of Indonesian “hobbits”
The most detailed study of the remains of Homo floresiensis, the mysterious hominid-dwarfs, discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, has shown that they are descended from ancient African ancestors of the people, not from the Homo erectus as previously thought. About the discovery reported in the journal of Human Evolution.
Scientists from the Australian national University found that “the hobbit” (so called representatives of this species) were not the descendants of Homo sapiens, reduced due to island dwarfism, with a probability of 100%, and not relatives of Homo erectus (the only arhantrop, the remains of which were found in Indonesia), with a probability of 99%. They were sister species in relation to the person skilful (Homo habilis) is the most archaic species of the genus Homo (lived about 2.5 million years ago).
The study was conducted in 2010. Other writers have usually worked with the skull and lower jaw Florensky “the hobbit”, but the Australian group used as many as 133 measuring points located on the skull, jaw, teeth, shoulders, hands and feet. No data confirming the fact of the origin of man Florensky from the Homo erectus. For example, the jaw structure of “the hobbit” considerably more primitive than erectus.
Scientists assume that Homo floresiensis in the course of evolution emerged as a separate species in Africa and then migrated to Asia. Or, on the contrary, the common ancestor of it and Homo habilis came to Indonesia and there have already evolved into Homo floresiensis.