This was published 8 years ago
Scientists probe whether humans killed off the 'hobbit' people 50,000 years ago
The extinct human species dubbed the "hobbits" vanished from their home on the Indonesian island of Flores far earlier than previously thought, say scientists who suspect our species may have had a hand in the demise of these diminutive people.
Researchers on Wednesday said they recalculated the age of bones of the species, named Homo floresiensis, that were found inside a Flores cave.
Indonesian archaeologist Thomas Sutikna, and Professor Richard Roberts with a copy of a "hobbit" skull. Credit: University of Wollongong
They determined the species disappeared about 50,000 years ago, rather than 12,000 years ago as previously estimated.
The hobbits' discovery in 2003 created a scientific sensation. Homo floresiensis stood about 100 centimetres (3½ feet) tall, possessed a small, chimpanzee-sized brain, used stone tools and may have hunted pygmy elephants.
An artist's impression of Homo floresiensis.Credit: Peter Shouten
The researchers said there was not yet direct evidence the Hobbit people encountered Homo sapiens but noted that our species was already on other islands in the region about that time and had reached Australia by about 50,000 years ago.
Geochronologist Richard Roberts of Australia's University of Wollongong said it was possible Homo sapiens played a role in the hobbits' extinction and the issue would be a major focus of further research.
"To me, the question is, 'Would the hobbits have become extinct if humans had never made landfall on Flores?' And the answer is 'no'," Professor Roberts said.
"We were likely the decisive factor in their demise, but we still need to find hard evidence to back up this hunch."
Numerous animals disappeared on Flores at the same time, said paleoanthropologist Matt Tocheri of Canada's Lakehead University and the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program.
These included small elephants, giant marabou storks, vultures and large Komodo dragon lizards.
After fresh excavations from 2007 to 2014 improved the understanding of the cave site, the scientists re-evaluated the ages of sediment containing Homo floresiensis remains and the actual bones.
The hobbits' skeletal remains were 60,000 to 100,000 years old while their stone tools were 50,000 to 190,000 years old, said archaeologist Thomas Sutikna of the University of Wollongong and Indonesia's National Research Centre for Archaeology.
Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago and later trekked to other parts of the world, encountering other human species such as Neanderthals who went extinct not long afterward.
The previous assessment that the hobbits had lived as recently as 12,000 years ago indicated they had survived for perhaps 40,000 years after our species reached the region. The new results show this was not the case.
The research appears in the journal Nature.
Reuters