Homo floresiensis

{{short description|Extinct small human species found in Flores}} {{Redirect|LB1|other uses|LB1 (disambiguation)}} {{pp-move}} {{bots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = <br/> Middle Pleistocene-Late Pleistocene <br/> {{fossilrange|0.7|0.05}} | image = Homo Florensiensis-MGL 95216-P5030051-white.jpg | image_alt = Skull with associated mandible. | image_caption = ''H. floresiensis'' skull, Cantonal Museum of Geology, Switzerland | extinct = yes | genus = Homo | species = floresiensis | authority = Brown et al., 2004 | range_map = ID - Flores.PNG | range_map_caption = Flores in Indonesia, shown highlighted in red }}

'''''Homo floresiensis''''' ({{IPAc-en|pron|f|l|ɔːr|'|ɛ|z|i:|ˌ|ɛ|n|.|s|ɪ|s}}), also known as "'''Flores Man'''" or "'''Hobbit'''" (after the fictional species), is an extinct species of small archaic humans that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago.

The remains of an individual who would have stood about {{convert|1.1|m|abbr=on}} in height were discovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave. As of 2015, partial skeletons of 15 individuals have been recovered; this includes one complete skull, referred to as "LB1".<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004">{{cite journal |author= Brown, P. |display-authors=etal |date= 27 October 2004 |title= A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia |journal= Nature |pmid= 15514638 |volume= 431 |issue= 7012 |doi= 10.1038/nature02999 |pages= 1055–1061 |bibcode= 2004Natur.431.1055B |s2cid= 26441 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/15287/files/PAL_E2586.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Morwood05">{{cite journal |author= Morwood, M. J. |display-authors= etal |date= 13 October 2005 |title= Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia |journal= Nature |pmid= 16229067 |volume= 437 |issue= 7061 |pages= 1012–1017 |bibcode= 2005Natur.437.1012M |doi= 10.1038/nature04022 |s2cid= 4302539 }}</ref>

The ancestors of ''H. floresiensis'' are suggested to have arrived on the island around 1.27–1 million years ago.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> It is now generally accepted that the small body size of ''H. floresiensis'' is the result of insular dwarfism, a common phenomenon among island animals.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Monson |first=Tesla A. |last2=Weitz |first2=Andrew P. |last3=Brasil |first3=Marianne F. |date=2025-06-27 |title=Molar proportions, endocranial volume, and insular nanism in fossil Homo |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03014460.2025.2512027 |journal=Annals of Human Biology |language=en |volume=52 |issue=sup1 |doi=10.1080/03014460.2025.2512027 |issn=0301-4460 |quote=Current consensus suggests ''Homo floresiensis'' was a diminutive hominid that evolved under intense selection for small body size in an island environment|doi-access=free }}</ref> It has historically been debated whether ''H. floresiensis'' was the dwarfed descendant of Javanese ''Homo erectus'', or whether it represents an otherwise undetected migration of small, ''Australopithecus'' or ''Homo habilis''-grade archaic humans outside of Africa.<ref name="tocheri2022" />

This hominin was at first considered remarkable for its survival until relatively recent times, initially thought to be only 12,000 years ago.<ref name="Morwood04">{{cite journal | author = Morwood, M. J.|display-authors=etal | date = 27 October 2004 | title = Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia | journal = Nature | pmid = 15510146 | volume = 431 |issue=7012 | pages = 1087–1091 | doi = 10.1038/nature02956|bibcode = 2004Natur.431.1087M |s2cid=4358548}}</ref> However, more extensive stratigraphic and chronological work has pushed the dating of the most recent evidence of its existence back to 50,000 years ago.<ref name="Revised date Nature">{{cite journal |last1= Sutikna |first1= Thomas |last2= Tocheri |first2= Matthew W. |last3= Morwood |first3= Michael J. |display-authors= etal  |title= Revised stratigraphy and chronology for ''Homo floresiensis'' at Liang Bua in Indonesia |journal= Nature |date= 30 March 2016 |volume= 532 |issue= 7599 |pages= 366–369 |bibcode= 2016Natur.532..366S |doi= 10.1038/nature17179 |pmid= 27027286 |s2cid= 4469009 |url= https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3778|hdl= 2292/34938 |hdl-access= free }}</ref><ref name="AP-20160330">{{cite news |last= Ritter |first= Malcolm |date= 30 March 2016 |title= Study: Indonesia "hobbit" fossils older than first thought |url= http://apnews.excite.com/article/20160330/us-sci--older_hobbits-e9ec537395.html |agency= Associated Press |access-date= 1 April 2016 }}</ref><ref name="BBC-20160330">{{cite news |last= Amos |first= Jonathan |date= 30 March 2016 |title= Age of 'Hobbit' species revised |work= BBC News |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35930979 |access-date= 1 April 2016 }}</ref> The ''Homo floresiensis'' skeletal material at Liang Bua is now dated from 60,000 to 100,000 years ago; stone tools recovered alongside the skeletal remains were from archaeological horizons ranging from 50,000 to 190,000 years ago.<ref name="Revised date Nature"/> Other earlier remains from Mata Menge date to around 700,000 years ago.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Kaifu |first1=Yousuke |last2=Kurniawan |first2=Iwan |last3=Mizushima |first3=Soichiro |last4=Sawada |first4=Junmei |last5=Lague |first5=Michael |last6=Setiawan |first6=Ruly |last7=Sutisna |first7=Indra |last8=Wibowo |first8=Unggul P. |last9=Suwa |first9=Gen |last10=Kono |first10=Reiko T. |last11=Sasaki |first11=Tomohiko |last12=Brumm |first12=Adam |last13=van den Bergh |first13=Gerrit D. |date=6 August 2024 |title=Early evolution of small body size in Homo floresiensis |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=6381 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-50649-7 |pmid=39107275 |pmc=11303730 |bibcode=2024NatCo..15.6381K |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>

==Specimens== ===Discovery=== [[Image:Homo floresiensis cave.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Liang Bua Cave, where the specimens were discovered]] The first specimens were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores on 2 September 2003 by a joint Australian-Indonesian team of archaeologists looking for evidence of the original human migration of modern humans from Asia to Australia.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004"/><ref name="Morwood04"/> They instead recovered a nearly complete, small-statured skeleton, LB1, in the Liang Bua cave, and subsequent excavations in 2003 and 2004 recovered seven additional skeletons, initially dated from 38,000 to 13,000 years ago.<ref name="Morwood05"/>

In 2004, a separate species ''Homo floresiensis'' was named and described by Peter Brown et al., with LB1 as the holotype. A tooth, LB2, was referred to the species.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004"/> LB1 is a fairly complete skeleton, including a nearly complete skull, which belonged to a 30-year-old woman, and has been nicknamed "Little Lady of Flores" or "Flo".<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Jungers |first1= W. |last2= Baab |first2= K. |date= December 2009 |title= The geometry of hobbits: ''Homo floresiensis'' and human evolution |journal= Significance |volume= 6 |issue= 4 |pages= 159–164 |doi= 10.1111/j.1740-9713.2009.00389.x |doi-access= free }}</ref> An arm bone provisionally assigned to ''H. floresiensis'', specimen LB3, is about 74,000 years old. The specimens are not fossilized and have been described as having "the consistency of wet blotting paper". Once exposed, the bones had to be left to dry before they could be dug up.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Dalton |first= Rex |date= 28 October 2004 |title= Little lady of Flores forces rethink of human evolution |volume= 431 |issue= 7012 |page= 1029 |journal= Nature |bibcode= 2004Natur.431.1029D |doi= 10.1038/4311029a |doi-access= free |pmid= 15510116 }}</ref>{{sfn|Morwood|Oosterzee|2007}} The discoverers proposed that a variety of features, both primitive and derived, identify these individuals as belonging to a new species.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004"/><ref name="Morwood04"/> Based on previous date estimates, the discoverers also proposed that ''H. floresiensis'' lived contemporaneously with modern humans on Flores.<ref>{{cite news |last= McKie |first= Robin |date= 21 February 2010 |title= How a hobbit is rewriting the history of the human race |work= The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/21/hobbit-rewriting-history-human-race |access-date= 23 February 2010}}</ref> Before publication, the discoverers were considering placing LB1 into her own genus, ''Sundanthropus floresianus'' ({{lit|Sunda human from Flores}}); however, reviewers of the article recommended that, despite her size, she should be placed in the genus ''Homo''.<ref name="Aiello">{{cite journal |last1=Aiello |first1=Leslie C. |year=2010 |title=Five years of ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=142 |issue=2 |pages=167–179 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.21255 |pmid=20229502 |bibcode=2010AJPA..142..167A }}</ref> [[File:Em - Homo floresiensis woman - 3.jpg|thumb|Skeleton at the Natural History Museum, London]]

In 2009, additional finds were reported, increasing the minimum number of individuals represented by bones to fourteen.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Morwood |first1= M. J. |last2= Sutikna |first2= T. |last3= Saptomo |first3= E. W. |last4= Jatmiko |last5= Hobbs |first5= D. R. |last6= Westaway |first6= K. E. |date= November 2009 |title= Preface: research at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 57 |issue= 5 |pages= 437–449 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.07.003 |pmid= 19733385 |bibcode= 2009JHumE..57..437M |url= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248409001225 |access-date= |url-access= subscription }}</ref> In 2015, teeth were referred to a fifteenth individual, LB15.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Kaifu |first1= Yousuke |last2= Kono |first2= Reiko T. |last3= Sutikna |first3= Thomas |last4= Saptomo |first4= E. Wahyu |last5= Jatmiko |last6= Rokus Due Awe |last7= Baba |first7= Hisao |date= 2015 |title= Descriptions of the dental remains of ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= Anthropological Science |volume= 123 |issue= 2 |pages= 129–145 |doi= 10.1537/ase.150501 |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282740723 |access-date= 20 June 2024 |doi-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Eckhardt |first1= Robert B. |last2= Chavanaves |first2= Sakdapong |last3= Henneberg |first3= Maciej |date= April 2015 |title= Liang Bua Cave (Flores) humans (aka "''Homo floresiensis''") exhibit individual variation and temporal change, not uniformity and stasis |journal= American Journal of Physical Anthropology |type= 84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 25–28 March 2015 |issue= 156 |pages= 126–127 |url= https://bioanth.org/documents/45/2015_AAPA_meetings_supp.pdf |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref>

Stone implements of a size considered appropriate to these small humans are also widely present in the cave. The implements are at horizons initially dated to 95,000 to 13,000 years ago.<ref name="Morwood05"/> Modern humans reached the region by around 50,000 years ago, by which time ''H. floresiensis'' is thought to have become extinct.<ref name="Revised date Nature"/> Comparisons of the stone artifacts with those made by modern humans in East Timor indicate many technological similarities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Marwick |first1= Ben |last2= Clarkson |first2= Chris |last3= O'Connor |first3= Sue |last4= Collins |first4= Sophie |title= Early modern human lithic technology from Jerimalai, East Timor |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |date= December 2016 |volume= 101 |pages= 45–64 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.004 |pmid= 27886810 |bibcode= 2016JHumE.101...45M |url= http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5292&context=smhpapers }}</ref>

===Scandal over specimen damage===

The fossils are property of the Republic of Indonesia. In early December 2004, Indonesian paleoanthropologist Teuku Jacob, formerly chief paleontologist of the Indonesian Gadjah Mada University, removed most of the remains from their repository at Jakarta's National Research Centre of Archaeology with the permission of Raden Panji Soejono, one of the institute's directors. He kept the bones for three months.{{sfn|Morwood|Oosterzee|2007|loc=ch. 9|p=}}<ref name=Connor>{{cite news |first= Steve |last=Connor |date= 30 November 2004 |title='Hobbit woman' remains spark row among academics |newspaper=New Zealand Herald |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=82&ObjectID=8500998 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041212213333/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=82&ObjectID=8500998 |archive-date= 12 December 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fight over access to 'hobbit' bones |date=11 December 2004 |department=Being human |magazine=New Scientist |url= https://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18424772.900 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Professor fuels row over 'hobbit man' fossils |date=3 December 2004 |newspaper=The Times |place=London, UK |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1386423,00.html |via=timesonline.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070211073220/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1386423,00.html |archive-date=11 February 2007 }}</ref>

Professor Jacob had previously stated that he did not believe the specimens represented a different species, and claimed that the LB1 find was from a 25–30 year-old member of a omnivorous subspecies of ''H. sapiens''; further speculating that it probably was a pygmy and that the size of its skull was even so much more small due to pathological microcephaly, which produces a small brain and skull.

Professor Richard Roberts of the University of Wollongong in Australia and other anthropologists objected to this withholding of the evidence by an individual with self-proclaimed bias against contrary research investigating support for a new species of ''Homo'', saying they feared that important scientific evidence would be sequestered by a small group of scientists who neither allowed access by other scientists nor published their own research.<ref name=Connor/> Jacob returned the remains on 23 February 2005 with portions severely damaged<ref name="smh.com.au">{{cite news |title='Hobbits' triumph tempered by tragedy |date=5 March 2005 |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |place=Sydney, AU |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/Hobbits-triumph-tempered-by-tragedy/2005/03/04/1109700677461.html }}</ref> and missing two leg bones.<ref>{{cite news |last=Powledge |first=Tabitha M. |date=28 February 2005 |title=Flores hominid bones returned |newspaper=The Scientist |url= http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/23282/title/Flores-hominid-bones-returned/ |via=the-scientist.com |access-date=28 February 2009 }}</ref>

Press reports thus described the condition of the returned remains: : "[including] long, deep cuts marking the lower edge of the Hobbit's jaw on both sides, said to be caused by a knife used to cut away the rubber mould ... the chin of a second Hobbit jaw was snapped off and glued back together. Whoever was responsible misaligned the pieces and put them at an incorrect angle ... The pelvis was smashed, destroying details that reveal body shape, gait and evolutionary history.",<ref name=bbc-restart>{{cite news |title='Hobbit' cave digs set to restart |date=25 January 2007 |department=Science |series=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6294101.stm |via=news.bbc.co.uk }}</ref> causing the discovery team leader Morwood to remark, : "It's sickening; Jacob was greedy and acted totally irresponsibly."<ref name="smh.com.au"/>

Jacob, however, denied any wrongdoing. He stated that the damages occurred during transport from Yogyakarta back to Jakarta<ref name=bbc-restart/><ref>{{cite news |last1= Culotta |first1= E. |year= 2005 |title=New 'hobbits' bolster species, but origins still a mystery |department= Paleoanthropology |journal=Science |volume= 310 |issue= 5746 |pages= 208–209 |url= https://doc.rero.ch/record/14708/files/PAL_E1535.pdf |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref> despite the reported contrary physical evidence that the jawbone had been broken while making a mould of the bones.<ref name="smh.com.au"/>{{sfn|Morwood|Oosterzee|2007|loc=ch. 9|p=230–231}}

In 2005, Indonesian officials forbade access to the cave. Some news media, such as the BBC, expressed the opinion that the restriction was to protect Jacob, who was considered "Indonesia's king of palaeoanthropology", from being proved wrong. Scientists were allowed to return to the cave in 2007, shortly after Jacob's death.<ref name=bbc-restart/>

==Classification and evolution== {{Human timeline}}

===Phylogeny and evolution=== Because of the deep neighbouring Lombok Strait, Flores remained an isolated island during episodes of low sea level. Therefore, the ancestors of ''H. floresiensis'' could only have reached the island by oceanic dispersal, most likely by rafting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Dennell |first1= Robin W. |last2= Louys |first2= Julien |last3= O'Regan |first3= Hannah J. |last4= Wilkinson |first4= David M. |date= July 2014 |title= The origins and persistence of ''Homo floresiensis'' on Flores: biogeographical and ecological perspectives |journal= Quaternary Science Reviews |language= en |volume= 96 |pages= 98–107 |bibcode= 2014QSRv...96...98D |doi= 10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.031 |hdl= 1885/30501 |hdl-access= free |s2cid= 56035748 |url= https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379113002515 }}</ref> The oldest stone tools on Flores are around 1 million years old.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1= Brumm |first1= Adam |last2= Jensen |first2= Gitte M. |last3= van den Bergh |first3= Gert D. |last4= Morwood |first4= Michael J. |last5= Kurniawan |first5= Iwan |last6= Aziz |first6= Fachroel |last7= Storey |first7= Michael |year= 2010 |title= Hominins on Flores, Indonesia, by one million years ago |journal= Nature |volume= 464 |issue= 7289 |pages= 748–752 |bibcode= 2010Natur.464..748B |doi= 10.1038/nature08844 |issn= 0028-0836 |pmid= 20237472 |s2cid= 205219871}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=van den Bergh |first1=Gerrit D. |last2= Alloway |first2= Brent V. |last3= Storey |first3= Michael |last4= Setiawan |first4=Ruly |last5= Yurnaldi |first5= Dida |last6= Kurniawan |first6=Iwan |last7=Moore |first7=Mark W. |last8=Jatmiko |last9= Brumm |first9= Adam |last10= Flude |first10= Stephanie |last11= Sutikna |first11= Thomas |last12= Setiyabudi |first12= Erick |last13= Prasetyo |first13= Unggul W. |last14= Puspaningrum |first14= Mika R. |last15= Yoga |first15= Ifan |date= October 2022 |title= An integrative geochronological framework for the Pleistocene So'a basin (Flores, Indonesia), and its implications for faunal turnover and hominin arrival |journal= Quaternary Science Reviews |language= en |volume= 294 |article-number= 107721 |bibcode= 2022QSRv..29407721V |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107721 |hdl= 10072/418777 |hdl-access= free |s2cid= 252290750 |url= https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379122003523 }}</ref> Stone artifacts are absent from sites over 1.27 million years old, suggesting that the ancestors of ''H''. ''floresiensis'' arrived after this time.<ref name=":0"/>

In 2016, fossil teeth and a partial jaw from hominins assumed to be ancestral to ''H. floresiensis'' were discovered at Mata Menge, about {{cvt|74|km}} from Liang Bua. They date to about 700,000 years ago. Other remains (including a humerus) were later described from Mata Menge, with the remains subsequently being directly assigned to ''H. floresiensis''. These remains are about the same size or somewhat smaller than the remains from Liang Bua, suggesting the size of the species remained stable for hundreds of thousands of years up until its extinction.<ref name="Callaway2016b">{{cite journal |last1= Callaway |first1= E. |date= 8 June 2016 |title= 'Hobbit' relatives found after ten-year hunt |journal= Nature |volume= 534 |issue= 7606 |pages= 164–165 |bibcode= 2016Natur.534Q.164C |doi= 10.1038/534164a |doi-access= free |pmid= 27279191 }}</ref><ref name="Brumm2016">{{cite journal |last1= Brumm |first1= A. |author1-link= Adam Brumm |last2= van den Bergh |first2= G. D. |last3= Storey |first3= M. |last4= Kurniawan |first4= I. |last5= Alloway |first5= B. V. |last6= Setiawan |first6= R. |last7= Setiyabudi |first7= E. |last8= Grün |first8= R. |last9= Moore |first9=M. W.|last10= Yurnaldi |first10= D.|last11= Puspaningrum |first11= M. R. |last12= Wibowo |first12= U. P. |last13= Insani |first13= H. |last14= Sutisna |first14= I. |last15= Westgate |first15=J. A. |last16= Pearce |first16= N. J. G. |last17= Duval |first17= M. |last18= Meijer |first18= H. J. M.|last19= Aziz |first19= F. |last20= Sutikna |first20= T. |last21= van der Kaars |first21= S. |last22= Flude |first22= S. |last23= Morwood |first23= M. J. |title= Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores|journal= Nature|volume= 534 |issue= 7606 |date= 8 June 2016 |pages= 249–253 |doi= 10.1038/nature17663 |pmid=27279222|bibcode=2016Natur.534..249B |s2cid= 28608179 |url= http://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/files/9400924/Brumm_et_al_2016_Age_stratigraphic_context_hominin_fossils_Flores_NAture_DRAFT_MS.pdf }}</ref><ref name="van den Bergh2016">{{cite journal |last1= van den Bergh |first1= G. D. |last2= Kaifu |first2= Y. |last3= Kurniawan |first3= I. |last4= Kono |first4= R. T. |last5= Brumm |first5= A. |last6= Setiyabudi |first6= E. |last7= Aziz |first7= F. |last8= Morwood |first8= M. J. |date= 8 June 2016 |title= ''Homo floresiensis''-like fossils from the early Middle Pleistocene of Flores |journal= Nature |volume= 534 |issue= 7606 |pages= 245–248 |bibcode= 2016Natur.534..245V |doi= 10.1038/nature17999 |pmid= 27279221 |s2cid= 205249218 }}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Two hypotheses have been proposed as to the origin of ''H. floresiensis.'' The first proposes that ''H. floresiensis'' descended from an early migration of very primitive small ''Australopithecus''/''Homo habilis''-grade archaic humans outside of Africa prior to 1.75 million years ago. This is based on various aspects of ''H. floresiensis'' sketetal anatomy, such as its feet bones<ref name=":7">{{cite journal |last1=Jungers |first1=W. L. |author-link=William L. Jungers |last2=Harcourt-Smith |first2=W. E. H. |last3=Wunderlich |first3=R. E. |last4=Tocheri |first4=M. W. |last5=Larson |first5=S. G. |last6=Sutikna |first6=T. |last7=Due |first7=Rhokus Awe |last8=Morwood |first8=M. J. |year=2009 |title=The foot of ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal=Nature |volume=459 |issue=7243 |pages=81–84 |bibcode=2009Natur.459...81J |doi=10.1038/nature07989 |pmid=19424155 |s2cid=4392759}}</ref> being considered as more similar to those of very archaic humans such as ''Australopithecus'' and ''Homo habilis'' than to ''Homo erectus.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name="Argue2017" /><ref name=":9" />'' This position has been supported by several cladistical analyses.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last1=Argue |first1=Debbie |last2=Morwood |first2=M. |last3=Sutikna |first3=T. |last4=Jatmiko |last5=Saptomo |first5=W. |date=July 2009 |title=''Homo floresiensis'': A cladistic analysis |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=Online Only as of Aug 4, 2009 |issue=5 |pages=623–639 |bibcode=2009JHumE..57..623A |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.05.002 |pmid=19628252}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite journal |author1=Dembo, M. |author2=Matzke, N. J. |author3=Mooers, A. Ø. |author4=Collard, M. |year=2015 |title=Bayesian analysis of a morphological supermatrix sheds light on controversial fossil hominin relationships |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=282 |issue=1812 |article-number=20150943 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.0943 |pmc=4528516 |pmid=26202999 |quote="the data we currently have for ''H. floresiensis'' are unable to distinguish among the various ‘hobbits are early hominins' hypotheses"}}</ref><ref name="Argue2017">{{cite journal |last1=Argue |first1=Debbie |last2=Groves |first2=Colin P. |date=21 April 2017 |title=The affinities of Homo floresiensis based on phylogenetic analyses of cranial, dental, and postcranial characters |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=107 |pages=107–133 |bibcode=2017JHumE.107..107A |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.02.006 |pmid=28438318 |quote="Support for most clades in all analyses was rather low as measured by traditional methods (bootstrap and Bremer support in parsimony, posterior probability in Bayesian inference)"|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Trueman |first=John W.H. |date=August 2010 |title=A new cladistic analysis of Homo floresiensis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248410000643 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |language=en |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=223–226 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.01.013|pmid=20494404 |bibcode=2010JHumE..59..223T |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dembo |first1=Mana |last2=Radovčić |first2=Davorka |last3=Garvin |first3=Heather M. |last4=Laird |first4=Myra F. |last5=Schroeder |first5=Lauren |last6=Scott |first6=Jill E. |last7=Brophy |first7=Juliet |last8=Ackermann |first8=Rebecca R. |last9=Musiba |first9=Chares M. |last10=de Ruiter |first10=Darryl J. |last11=Mooers |first11=Arne Ø. |last12=Collard |first12=Mark |date=August 2016 |title=The evolutionary relationships and age of Homo naledi: An assessment using dated Bayesian phylogenetic methods |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248416300100 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |language=en |volume=97 |pages=17–26 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.008|pmid=27457542 |bibcode=2016JHumE..97...17D |hdl=2164/8796 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Other authors have argued that ''H. floresiensis'' instead likely represents the descendants of a population of Javanese ''Homo erectus'' that became isolated on Flores, with the small body size being the result of insular dwarfism, a well known evolutionary trend found among various island animals.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=L. R. |author-link=Lee Rogers Berger |last2=Churchill |first2=S. E. |display-authors=et al. |year=2008 |title=Small-Bodied Humans from Palau, Micronesia |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=3 |issue=3 |article-number=e1780 |bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.1780B |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0001780 |pmc=2268239 |pmid=18347737 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Kaifu2015" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name="tocheri2022" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Kaifu |first=Yousuke |date=1 December 2017 |title=Archaic Hominin Populations in Asia before the Arrival of Modern Humans: Their Phylogeny and Implications for the "Southern Denisovans" |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/694318 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=58 |issue=S17 |pages=S418–S433 |doi=10.1086/694318 |issn=0011-3204|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These authors alternatively suggest that ''H. floresiensis'' has several cranial and dental similarities to ''H. erectus'', particularly to early Javanese ''Homo erectus.''<ref name="Kaifu2015" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1= Zanolli |first1= Clément |last2= Kaifu |first2= Yousuke |last3= Pan |first3= Lei |last4= Xing |first4= Song |last5= Mijares |first5= Armand S. |last6= Kullmer |first6= Ottmar |last7= Schrenk |first7= Friedemann |last8= Corny |first8= Julien |last9= Dizon |first9= Eusebio |last10= Robles |first10= Emil |last11=Détroit |first11= Florent |date= February 2022 |title= Further analyses of the structural organization of Homo luzonensis teeth: Evolutionary implications |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |language= en |volume= 163 |article-number= 103124 |url= https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248421001767 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103124 |pmid= 34998272 |bibcode= 2022JHumE.16303124Z |s2cid= 245784713 |url-access= subscription }}</ref><ref name="tocheri2022" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zeitoun |first1=Valéry |last2=Barriel |first2=Véronique |last3=Widianto |first3=Harry |date=April 2016 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of the calvaria of Homo floresiensis |url=http://cr-palevol.fr/15/51 |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=en |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=555–568 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2015.12.002|bibcode=2016CRPal..15..555Z |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> These authors also dispute some of the similarities to ''Australopithecus'' and ''Homo habilis''-grade archaic humans,<ref name=":1" /> and suggest that others may have been the result of evolutionary reversals/convergence.<ref name="tocheri2022" />

It has been noted that there is no evidence of archaic humans in the adjacent (and likely source) region of Java earlier than 1.3-1.5<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matsu’ura |first1=Shuji |last2=Kondo |first2=Megumi |last3=Danhara |first3=Tohru |last4=Sakata |first4=Shuhei |last5=Iwano |first5=Hideki |last6=Hirata |first6=Takafumi |last7=Kurniawan |first7=Iwan |last8=Setiyabudi |first8=Erick |last9=Takeshita |first9=Yoshihiro |last10=Hyodo |first10=Masayuki |last11=Kitaba |first11=Ikuko |last12=Sudo |first12=Masafumi |last13=Danhara |first13=Yugo |last14=Aziz |first14=Fachroel |date=10 January 2020 |title=Age control of the first appearance datum for Javanese Homo erectus in the Sangiran area |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau8556 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=367 |issue=6474 |pages=210–214 |doi=10.1126/science.aau8556 |pmid=31919224 |bibcode=2020Sci...367..210M |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> or 1.8 million<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Husson |first1=Laurent |last2=Salles |first2=Tristan |last3=Lebatard |first3=Anne-Elisabeth |last4=Zerathe |first4=Swann |last5=Braucher |first5=Régis |last6=Noerwidi |first6=Sofwan |last7=Aribowo |first7=Sonny |last8=Mallard |first8=Claire |last9=Carcaillet |first9=Julien |last10=Natawidjaja |first10=Danny H. |last11=Bourlès |first11=Didier |last12=ASTER team |last13=Aumaitre |first13=Georges |last14=Bourlès |first14=Didier |last15=Keddadouche |first15=Karim |date=8 November 2022 |title=Javanese Homo erectus on the move in SE Asia circa 1.8 Ma |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=19012 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-23206-9 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=9643487 |pmid=36347897|bibcode=2022NatSR..1219012H }}</ref> years ago, with the earliest human presence on Java being represented by ''Homo erectus.''<ref name=":1" /> There is also no evidence of ''Australopithecus'' or ''Homo habilis''-grade archaic humans anywhere outside of Africa, which supporters of the ''Homo erectus''-origin hypothesis suggest makes the descent of ''H. floresiensis'' from these more primitive hominins unlikely.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="tocheri2022" /> The insular dwarfism hypothesis is the current consensus as of 2025.<ref name=":10" />

===DNA extraction attempt=== In 2006, two teams attempted to extract DNA from a tooth discovered in 2003; however, both teams were unsuccessful. It has been suggested that this happened because the dentine was targeted; new research suggests that the cementum has higher concentrations of DNA. Moreover, the heat generated by the high speed of the drill bit may have denatured the DNA.<ref>{{cite news |first= Cheryl |last= Jones |url= http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110105/full/news.2011.702.html |title= Researchers to drill for hobbit history : Nature News |journal= Nature |date= 5 January 2011 |access-date= 1 October 2011 |doi= 10.1038/news.2011.702 }}</ref>

===Congenital disorder claims=== The small brain size of ''H. floresiensis'' at 417 cc prompted hypotheses that the specimens were simply ''H. sapiens'' with a birth defect, rather than the result of neurological reorganisation.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Falk |first= D. |author-link= Dean Falk |author2= Hildebolt, Charles |author3= Smith, Kirk |author4= Morwood, M.J. |author5= Sutikna, Thomas |author6= Jatmiko |author7= Saptomo, E. Wayhu |author8= Prior, Fred |year= 2009 |title= LB1's virtual endocast, microcephaly and hominin brain evolution |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 57 |issue= 5 |pages= 597–607 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.10.008 |pmid= 19254807 |bibcode= 2009JHumE..57..597F }}</ref> These claims have subsequently been widely rejected.<ref name="tocheri2022">{{cite book |author1= Tocheri, Matthew W. |author2= Sutikna, Thomas |author3= Jatmiko |author4= Saptomo, E. Wahyu |date= 14 February 2022 |chapter= ''Homo floresiensis'' |title= The Oxford Handbook of Early Southeast Asia |publisher= Oxford University Press |pages= 38–69 |access-date= 13 March 2023 |doi= 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199355358.013.2 |isbn= 978-0-19-935535-8 |url= https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/42054/chapter-abstract/355842802 }}</ref>

====Microcephaly==== [[File:H-floresiensis-Cretan-microcephalic.jpg|thumb|left|LB1 (left) vs. microcephalic human (right)]] Prior to Jacob's removal of the fossils, American neuroanthropologist Dean Falk and her colleagues performed a CT scan of the LB1 skull and a virtual endocast, and concluded that the brainpan was neither that of a pygmy nor an individual with a malformed skull and brain.<ref name="Falk_et_al_2005" /> In response, American neurologist Jochen Weber and colleagues compared the computer model skull with microcephalic human skulls, and found that the skull size of LB1 falls in the middle of the size range of the human samples, and is not inconsistent with microcephaly.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Weber |first1= J. |last2= Czarnetzki |first2= A. |last3= Pusch |first3= C.M. |date= 14 October 2005 |title=Comment on "The Brain of LB1, ''Homo floresiensis''" |journal= Science |volume= 310 |issue= 5746 |page= 236 |doi= 10.1126/science.1114789 |doi-access=free |pmid= 16224005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= Rafaela |last= von Bredow |date= 1 September 2006 |newspaper= Der Spiegel |title= Indonesia's "Hobbit": A Huge Fight over a Little Man |url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,434604,00.html }}</ref> A 2006 study stated that LB1 probably descended from a pygmy population of modern humans, but herself shows signs of microcephaly, and other specimens from the cave show small stature but not microcephaly.<ref name="Jacob_et_al_2006"/>

In 2005, the original discoverers of ''H. floresiensis'', after unearthing more specimens, countered that the skeptics had mistakenly attributed the height of ''H. floresiensis'' to microcephaly.<ref name="Morwood05"/> Falk stated that Martin's assertions were unsubstantiated. In 2006, Australian palaeoanthropologist Debbie Argue and colleagues also concluded that the finds are indeed a new species.<ref name="Argue_et_al_2006"/> In 2007, Falk found that ''H. floresiensis'' brains were similar in shape to modern humans, and the frontal and temporal lobes were well-developed, which would not have been the case were they microcephalic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Falk |first1=D. |last2=Hildebolt |first2=C. |last3=Smith |first3=K. |last4=Morwood |first4=M. J. |last5=Sutikna |first5=T. |date=2 February 2007 |title=Brain shape in human microcephalics and Homo floresiensis |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=104 |issue=7 |pages=2513–8 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0609185104 |doi-access=free |pmid=17277082 |pmc=1892980 |bibcode=2007PNAS..104.2513F}}</ref>

In 2008, Greek palaeontologist George Lyras and colleagues said that LB1 falls outside the range of variation for human microcephalic skulls.<ref name="Lyras_et_al_2008"/> However, a 2013 comparison of the LB1 endocast to a set of 100 normocephalic and 17 microcephalic endocasts showed that there is a wide variation in microcephalic brain shape ratios and that in these ratios the group as such is not clearly distinct from normocephalics. The LB1 brain shape nevertheless aligns slightly better with the microcephalic sample, with the shape at the extreme edge of the normocephalic group.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Vannucci |first1= Robert C. |last2= Barron |first2= Todd F. |last3= Holloway |first3= Ralph L. |year= 2013 |title= Frontal Brain Expansion During Development Using MRI and Endocasts: Relation to Microcephaly and ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= The Anatomical Record |volume= 296 |issue= 4 |pages= 630–637 |doi= 10.1002/ar.22663 |doi-access= free |issn= 1932-8486 |pmid= 23408553 }}</ref> A 2016 pathological analysis of LB1's skull revealed no pathologies nor evidence of microcephaly, and concluded that LB1 is a separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Balzeau |first1= Antoine |last2= Charlier |first2= Philippe |title= What do cranial bones of LB1 tell us about ''Homo floresiensis''? |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 93 |year= 2016 |pages= 12–24 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.008 |issn= 0047-2484 |pmid= 27086053 |bibcode= 2016JHumE..93...12B }}</ref>

====Laron syndrome==== A 2007 study postulated that the skeletons were those of humans who suffered from Laron syndrome, which was first reported in 1966, and is most common in inbreeding populations, which may have been the scenario on the small island. It causes a short stature and small skull, and many conditions seen in Laron syndrome patients are also exhibited in ''H. floresiensis''. The estimated height of LB1 is at the lower end of the average for afflicted human women, but the endocranial volume is much smaller than anything exhibited in Laron syndrome patients. DNA analysis would be required to support this theory.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Hershkovitz |first1= Israel |last2= Kornreich |first2= Liora |last3= Laron |first3= Zvi |year= 2007 |title= Comparative skeletal features between ''Homo floresiensis'' and patients with primary growth hormone insensitivity (Laron syndrome) |journal= American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume= 134 |issue= 2 |pages= 198–208 |doi= 10.1002/ajpa.20655 |issn= 0002-9483 |pmid= 17596857 |bibcode= 2007AJPA..134..198H |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292668787 }}</ref>

====Congenital iodine deficiency syndrome==== [[File:Colin Groves and Debbie Argue.jpg|thumb|Colin Groves and Debbie Argue examining the type specimen]] In 2008, Australian researcher Peter Obendorf — who studies congenital iodine deficiency syndrome — and colleagues suggested that LB1 and LB6 suffered from myxoedematous (ME) congenital iodine deficiency syndrome resulting from congenital hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), and that they were part of an affected population of ''H. sapiens'' on the island. Congenital iodine deficiency syndrome, caused by iodine deficiency, is expressed by small bodies and reduced brain size (but ME causes less motor and mental disablement than other forms of congenital iodine deficiency syndrome), and is a form of dwarfism still found in the local Indonesian population. They said that various features of ''H. floresiensis'' are diagnostic characteristics, such as enlarged pituitary fossa, unusually straight and untwisted humeral heads, relatively thick limbs, double rooted premolar, and primitive wrist morphology.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Obendorf |first1= P.J. |last2= Oxnard |first2= C.E. |last3= Kefford |first3= C.E. |date= 7 June 2008 |title= Are the small human-like fossils found on Flores human endemic cretins? |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume= 275 |issue= 1640 |pages= 1287–1296 |doi= 10.1098/rspb.2007.1488 |pmc= 2602669 |pmid= 18319214 |url= }}</ref>

However, Falk's scans of LB1's pituitary fossa show that it is not larger than usual.<ref>{{cite news |author= Baab, Karen L. |date= 2012 |title= ''Homo floresiensis'': Making Sense of the Small-Bodied Hominin Fossils from Flores |journal= Nature Education Knowledge |volume= 3 |issue= 9 |pages= 4 |series= Learn Science at Scitable |url= https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/homo-floresiensis-making-sense-of-the-small-91387735/ |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref> Also, in 2009, anthropologists Colin Groves and Catharine FitzGerald compared the Flores bones with those of ten people who had had cretinism, and found no overlap.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Groves |first1= Colin Peter |last2= Fitzgerald |first2= Catharine |year= 2010 |title= Healthy hobbits or victims of Sauron |journal= Homo: Journal of Comparative Human Biology |volume= 61 |issue= 3 |page= 211 |doi= 10.1016/j.jchb.2010.01.019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Flores hobbits didn't suffer from cretinism |journal= New Scientist |volume= 206 |issue= 2766 |page= 17 |year= 2010 |doi= 10.1016/S0262-4079(10)61537-0 |issn= 0262-4079 }}</ref> Obendorf and colleagues rejected Groves and FitzGerald's argument the following year.<ref name=oxnard-plos>{{cite journal |last1= Oxnard |first1= C. |last2= Obendorf |first2= P.J. |last3= Kefford |first3= B.B. |year= 2010 |title= Post-cranial skeletons of hypothyroid cretins show a similar anatomical mosaic as ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= PLOS ONE |volume= 5 |issue= 9 |article-number= e13018 |bibcode= 2010PLoSO...513018O |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0013018 |doi-access= free |pmc= 2946357 |pmid= 20885948 }}</ref> A 2012 study similar to Groves and FitzGeralds' also found no evidence of congenital iodine deficiency syndrome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Brown |first1= Peter |year= 2012 |title= LB1 and LB6 ''Homo floresiensis'' are not modern human (''Homo sapiens'') cretins |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 62 |issue= 2 |pages= 201–224 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.10.011 |issn= 0047-2484 |pmid= 22277102 |bibcode= 2012JHumE..62..201B }}</ref>

====Down syndrome==== From 2006, physical anthropologist Maciej Henneberg and colleagues have claimed that LB1 suffered from Down syndrome, and that the remains of other individuals at the Flores site were merely normal modern humans.<ref name="Henneberg PNAS">{{cite journal |last1= Henneberg |first1= Maciej |last2= Eckhardt |first2= Robert B. |last3= Chavanaves |first3= Sakdapong |last4= Hsü |first4= Kenneth J. |date= 5 August 2014 |title= Evolved developmental homeostasis disturbed in LB1 from Flores, Indonesia, denotes Down syndrome and not diagnostic traits of the invalid species ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume= 111 |issue= 31 |pages= 11967–11972 |bibcode= 2014PNAS..11111967H |doi= 10.1073/pnas.1407382111 |doi-access= free |pmc= 4143021 |pmid= 25092311 }}</ref> However, there are a number of characteristics shared by both LB1 and LB6 as well as other known early humans and absent in ''H. sapiens'', such as the lack of a chin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Westaway |first1= Michel Carrington |last2= Durband |first2= Arthur C. C|last3= Groves |first3= Colin P. |author-link3= Colin Groves |last4= Collard |first4= Mark |date= 17 February 2015 |title= Mandibular evidence supports ''Homo floresiensis'' as a distinct species |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume= 112 |issue= 7 |pages= E604–E605 |bibcode= 2015PNAS..112E.604W |doi= 10.1073/pnas.1418997112 |doi-access= free |pmc= 4343145 |pmid= 25659745 }}</ref> In 2016, a comparative study concluded that LB1 did not exhibit a sufficient number of Down syndrome characteristics to support a diagnosis.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Baab |first= Karen |date= 8 June 2016 |title= A Critical Evaluation of the Down Syndrome Diagnosis for LB1, Type Specimen of ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= PLOS ONE |volume= 11 |issue= 6 |article-number= e0155731 |bibcode= 2016PLoSO..1155731B |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0155731 |doi-access=free |pmc= 4898715 |pmid= 27275928 }}</ref> The noted physical anthropologist Chris Stringer in 2011 wrote of ''Homo floresiensis'' deniers generally, "I think they have damaged their own, and palaeoanthropology's, reputation".{{sfn|Stringer|2011|p=82}}

== Anatomy == The most important and obvious identifying features of ''Homo floresiensis'' are its small body and small cranial capacity. Brown and Morwood also identified a number of additional, less obvious features that might distinguish LB1 from modern ''H. sapiens'', including the form of the teeth, the absence of a chin, and a lesser torsion in the lower end of the humerus (upper arm bone). Each of these putative distinguishing features has been heavily scrutinized by the scientific community, with different research groups reaching differing conclusions as to whether these features support the original designation of a new species,<ref name = "Argue_et_al_2006">{{cite journal |author= Argue, D. |author2= Donlon, D. |author3= Groves, C. |author4= Wright, R. |date= October 2006 |title= ''Homo floresiensis'': Microcephalic, pygmoid, ''Australopithecus'', or ''Homo''? |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 51 |issue= 4 |pages= 360–374 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.04.013 |pmid= 16919706 |bibcode= 2006JHumE..51..360A }}</ref> or whether they identify LB1 as a severely pathological ''H. sapiens''.<ref name="Jacob_et_al_2006">{{cite journal |author= Jacob, T. |author2= Indriati, E. |author3= Soejono, R. P. |author4= Hsu, K. |author5= Frayer, D. W. |author6= Eckhardt, R. B. |author7= Kuperavage, A. J. |author8= Thorne, A. |author9= Henneberg, M. |date= 5 September 2006 |title= Pygmoid Australomelanesian ''Homo sapiens'' skeletal remains from Liang Bua, Flores: Population affinities and pathological abnormalities |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume= 103 |issue= 36 |pages= 13421–13426 |bibcode= 2006PNAS..10313421J |doi= 10.1073/pnas.0605563103 |doi-access= free |pmc= 1552106 |pmid= 16938848 }}</ref>

A 2015 study of the dental morphology of forty teeth of ''H. floresiensis'' compared to 450 teeth of living and extinct human species, states that they had "primitive canine-premolar and advanced molar morphologies," which is unique among hominins.<ref name=Kaifu2015>{{cite journal |last1= Kaifu |first1= Yousuke |last2= Kono |first2= Reiko T. |last3= Sutikna |first3= Thomas |last4= Saptomo |first4= Emanuel Wahyu |last5= Jatmiko |last6= Due Awe |first6= Rokus |editor1-last= Bae |editor1-first= Christopher |title= Unique Dental Morphology of ''Homo floresiensis'' and Its Evolutionary Implications|journal= PLoS One |date= 18 November 2015 |volume= 10 |issue= 11 |article-number= e0141614 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1041614K |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0141614 |doi-access= free |pmc= 4651360 |pmid= 26624612 }}</ref>

The discovery of additional partial skeletons<ref name = "Morwood05" /> has verified the existence of some features found in LB1, such as the lack of a chin, but Jacob and other research teams argue that these features do not distinguish LB1 from local modern humans.<ref name="Jacob_et_al_2006" /> Lyras et al. have asserted, based on 3D-morphometrics, that the skull of LB1 differs significantly from all ''H. sapiens'' skulls, including those of small-bodied individuals and microcephalics, and is more similar to the skull of ''Homo erectus''.<ref name="Lyras_et_al_2008">{{cite journal |author1= Lyras, G.A. |author2= Dermitzakis, D.M. |author3= Van Der Geer, A.A.E. |author4= Van der Geer, S.B. |author5= De Vos, J. |date= 1 August 2008 |title= The origin of ''Homo floresiensis'' and its relation to evolutionary processes under isolation |journal= Anthropological Science |volume= 117 |pages= 33–43 |doi= 10.1537/ase.080411 |doi-access= free |url= https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase/117/1/117_080411/_pdf |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref> Ian Tattersall argues that the species is wrongly classified as ''Homo floresiensis'' as it is far too archaic to assign to the genus ''Homo''.{{sfn|Tattersall|2015|p=194}}

===Size=== LB1's height is estimated to have been {{convert|1.06|m|abbr=on}}. The height of a second skeleton, LB8, has been estimated at {{convert|1.09|m|abbr=on}} based on tibial length.<ref name = "Morwood05" /> These estimates are outside the range of normal modern human height and considerably shorter than the average adult height of even the smallest modern humans, such as the Mbenga and Mbuti at {{convert|1.5|m|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |url= https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9062017 |title= Pygmy |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080108103406/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9062017 |archive-date= 8 January 2008 }}</ref> Twa, Semang at {{convert|1.37|m|abbr=on}} for adult women of the Malay Peninsula,<ref>{{cite journal |last= Fix |first= Alan G. |date= June 1995 |title= Malayan Paleosociology: Implications for Patterns of Genetic Variation among the Orang Asli |journal= American Anthropologist |series= New Series |volume= 97 |issue= 2 |pages= 313–323 |doi= 10.1525/aa.1995.97.2.02a00090 |jstor= 681964 }}</ref> or the Andamanese at also {{convert|1.37|m|abbr=on}} for adult women.<ref>{{cite book |author= Weber, George |chapter= 5. A Physical Examination |title= The Andamanese |publisher= andaman.org |url= http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter5/text5.htm |access-date= 1 October 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120710025916/http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter5/text5.htm |archive-date= 10 July 2012 }}</ref> LB1's body mass is estimated to have been {{convert|25|kg|abbr=on}}. LB1 and LB8 are also somewhat smaller than the australopithecines, such as ''Lucy'', from three million years ago, not previously thought to have expanded beyond Africa. Thus, LB1 and LB8 may be the shortest and smallest members of the extended human group discovered thus far.<ref>{{cite web |language= en |title= Hobbit-Like Human Ancestor Found in Asia |website= nationalgeographic.com |publisher= National Geographic News |date= 27 October 2004 |url= https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/human-ancestor-skeletons-indonesia/ |access-date= 22 May 2020 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190905183744/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/human-ancestor-skeletons-indonesia/ |archive-date= 5 September 2019 }}</ref>

Their short stature was likely due to insular dwarfism, where size decreases as a response to fewer resources in an island ecosystem.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004" /><ref name = "Van Den Bergh">{{cite journal |last= Van Den Bergh |first= G. D. |author2= Rokhus Due Awe |author3= Morwood, M. J. |author4= Sutikna, T. |author5= Jatmiko |author6= Wahyu Saptomo, E. |date= May 2008 |title= The youngest ''Stegodon'' remains in Southeast Asia from the Late Pleistocene archaeological site Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia |journal= Quaternary International |volume= 182 |issue= 1 |pages= 16–48 |bibcode = 2008QuInt.182...16V |doi= 10.1016/j.quaint.2007.02.001 }}</ref> In 2006, Indonesian palaeoanthropologist Teuku Jacob and colleagues said that LB1 has a similar stature to the Rampasasa pygmies who inhabit the island, and that size can vary substantially in pygmy populations.<ref name="Jacob_et_al_2006" /> A 2018 study refuted the possibility of Rampasasa pygmies descending from ''H. floresiensis'', concluding that "multiple independent instances of hominin insular dwarfism occurred on Flores".<ref name = "Tucci2018">{{cite journal |last= Tucci |first= S. |display-authors=etal |date= 3 August 2018 |title= Evolutionary history and adaptation of a human pygmy population of Flores Island, Indonesia |journal= Science |volume= 361 |issue= 6401 |pages= 511–516 |bibcode= 2018Sci...361..511T |doi= 10.1126/science.aar8486 |pmc= 6709593 |pmid= 30072539 }}</ref>

Aside from smaller body size, the specimens seem to otherwise resemble ''H. erectus'', a species known to have been living in Southeast Asia at times coincident with earlier finds purported to be of ''H. floresiensis''.<ref name = "Morwood05" />

===Brain=== [[File:Homo floresiensis skull - Naturmuseum Senckenberg - DSC02091.JPG|thumb|Skull at the Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Germany]] In addition to a small body size, ''H. floresiensis'' had a remarkably small brain size. LB1's brain is estimated to have had a volume of {{convert|380|cm3|abbr=on}}, placing it at the range of chimpanzees or the extinct australopithecines.<ref name = "Brown_et_al_2004" /><ref name="Falk_et_al_2005">{{cite journal | author = Falk, D.|display-authors=etal |date= 8 April 2005 |title= The Brain of LB1, ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= Science |volume= 308 |issue= 5719 |pages= 242–245 |doi= 10.1126/science.1109727 |bibcode= 2005Sci...308..242F |pmid= 15749690 |s2cid= 43166136 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/14871/files/PAL_E2009.pdf }}</ref> LB1's brain size is less than half that of its presumed immediate ancestor, ''H. erectus'' ({{convert|980|cm3|abbr=on}}).<ref name="Falk_et_al_2005" /> The brain-to-body mass ratio of LB1 lies between that of ''H. erectus'' and the great apes.<ref>{{cite journal| last= Falk|first= D.|display-authors=etal |date= 19 May 2006 |title= Response to Comment on 'The Brain of LB1, ''Homo floresiensis'''|journal= Science |volume= 312 |issue= 5776 |page= 999c |doi= 10.1126/science.1124972 |bibcode= 2006Sci...312.....F|doi-access= free }}</ref> Such a reduction is likely due to insular dwarfism, and a 2009 study found that the reduction in brain size of extinct pygmy hippopotamuses in Madagascar compared with their living relatives is proportionally greater than the reduction in body size, and similar to the reduction in brain size of ''H. floresiensis'' compared with ''H. erectus''.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Weston, E. M. |author2= Lister, A. M. |date= 7 May 2009 |title= Insular dwarfism in hippos and a model for brain size reduction in ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal= Nature |volume= 459 |issue= 7243 |pages= 85–88 |bibcode= 2009Natur.459...85W |doi= 10.1038/nature07922 |issn= 0028-0836 |pmc= 2679980 |pmid= 19424156 }}</ref>

Smaller size does not appear to have affected mental faculties, as Brodmann area 10 on the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with cognition, is about the same size as that of modern humans.<ref name="Falk_et_al_2005" /> ''H. floresiensis'' is also associated with evidence for advanced behaviours, such as the use of fire, butchering, and stone tool manufacturing.<ref name = "Morwood05"/><ref name = "Morwood04"/>

===Limbs=== The angle of humeral torsion was lesser than in modern humans.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004"/><ref name="Morwood05"/><ref name="Morwood04"/> The humeral head of modern humans is twisted between 145 and 165 degrees to the plane of the elbow joint, whereas it is 120 degrees in ''H. floresiensis''. This may have provided an advantage when arm-swinging, and, in tandem with the unusual morphology of the shoulder girdle and short clavicle, would have displaced the shoulders slightly forward into an almost shrugging position. The shrugging position would have compensated for the lower range of motion in the arm, allowing for similar maneuverability in the elbows as in modern humans.{{Sfn|Larson|Jungers|Morwood|Sutikna|2007}} The wrist bones are similar to those of apes and ''Australopithecus.'' They were significantly smaller and more flexible than the carpals of modern humans, lacking contemporary features which evolved at least 800,000 years ago.<ref name="Tocheri_et_al_2007">{{cite journal |last1=Tocheri |first1=M.W. |last2=Orr |first2=C.M. |last3=Larson |first3=S.G. |last4=Sutikna |first4=T. |last5=Jatmiko |last6=Saptomo |first6=E.W. |last7=Due |first7=R.A. |last8=Djubiantono |first8=T. |last9=Morwood |first9=M.J. |last10=Jungers |first10=W.L. |date=21 September 2007 |title=The Primitive Wrist of ''Homo floresiensis'' and Its Implications for Hominin Evolution |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6090/Tocheri_2007the_primitive_wrist_of.pdf |journal=Science |volume=317 |issue=5845 |pages=1743–5 |bibcode=2007Sci...317.1743T |doi=10.1126/science.1147143 |pmid=17885135 |s2cid=42081240}}</ref>

The leg bones were more robust than those of modern humans.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004" /><ref name="Morwood05" /><ref name="Morwood04" /> The feet were unusually flat and large in relation with the rest of the body.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Jungers |first1= William L. |last2= Larson |first2= S.G. |last3= Harcourt-Smith |first3= W. |last4= Morwood |first4= M.J. |last5= Sutikna |first5= T. |last6= Due Awe |first6= Rokhus |last7= Djubiantono |first7= T. |title= Descriptions of the lower limb skeleton of ''Homo floresiensis'' | journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 57 |issue= 5 |date= 4 December 2008 |pages= 538–554 |pmid= 19062072 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.08.014 }}</ref> As a result, when walking, they would have had to bend the knees further back than modern humans do. This caused a high-stepping gait and slow walking speed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Blaszczyk |first1=Maria B. |last2= Vaughan |first2= Christopher L. |date= 2007 |title= Re-interpreting the evidence for bipedality in ''Homo floresiensis'' |journal=South African Journal of Science |volume= 103 |issue= 103 |page= 103 }}</ref> The toes were thin, long, and halluces were almost indistinguishable from the other metatarsals.<ref>{{cite news |first= Ewen |last= Callaway |date= 16 April 2008 |title= Flores 'hobbit' walked more like a clown than Frodo |newspaper= New Scientist |volume= 3 |pages= 983–984 |url= https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13692-flores-hobbit-walked-more-like-a-clown-than-frodo.html }}</ref>

==Culture== thumb|200px|A facial reconstruction of ''Homo floresiensis'' The cave yielded over ten thousand stone artefacts, mainly lithic flakes, surprising considering ''H. floresiensis''{{'}}s small brain. This has led some researchers to theorize that ''H. floresiensis'' inherited their tool-making skills from ''H. erectus''.<ref>{{cite web |last1= Moore |first1= Mark |title= How the ''Homo floresiensis'' kept their tools as they shrank into island life |url= https://phys.org/news/2016-06-homo-floresiensis-tools-shrank-island.html |website= phys.org |publisher= The Conversation |access-date= 2 December 2022 }}</ref> Points, perforators, blades, and microblades were associated with remains of the extinct elephant-relative ''Stegodon florensis.'' It has therefore been proposed that ''H.'' ''floresiensis'' hunted juvenile ''Stegodon''. Similar artefacts are found at the Soa Basin {{cvt|50|km}} south, associated with ''Stegodon'' and Komodo dragon remains, and are attributed to a likely ancestral population of ''H. erectus''.<ref name="Brown_et_al_2004" /><ref name="Morwood05" /><ref name="Morwood04"/> Other authors have doubted the extent of hunting of ''Stegodon'' by ''H. floresiensis'', noting the rarity of cut marks on remains of ''Stegodon'' found at Liang Bua, suggesting that they would have faced intense competition for carcasses with other predators, like the Komodo dragon, the giant stork ''Leptoptilos robustus'', and vultures, and that it was possible that their main prey was instead the giant rats like ''Papagomys'' endemic to the island, which are found abundantly at Liang Bua. While it was initially suggested that ''H. floresiensis'' was capable of using fire, the supporting evidence for this claim was later found to be unreliable.<ref name="tocheri2022"/>

== Paleoecology == [[File:Comparação do marabu-gigante com Homo floresiensis.png|thumb|Size of ''Leptoptilos robustus'' compared in size to ''Homo floresiensis'']] During the late Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene, and before the arrival of ''Homo sapiens'', Flores exhibited a depauperate ecosystem with relatively few terrestrial vertebrate species, including the extinct dwarf proboscidean (elephant relative) ''Stegodon florensis'';<ref name=":0" /> and a variety of rats (Murinae) including small-sized forms like ''Rattus hainaldi'', the Polynesian rat, ''Paulamys,'' and ''Komodomys,'' the medium-sized ''Hooijeromys'', and giant ''Papagomys'' and extinct ''Spelaeomys,'' the latter two genera being about the size of rabbits, with body masses of {{Convert|600-2500|g|lb}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Veatch |first1= E. Grace |last2= Tocheri |first2= Matthew W. |last3= Sutikna |first3= Thomas |last4= McGrath |first4= Kate |last5= Wahyu Saptomo |first5= E. |last6= Jatmiko |last7= Helgen |first7= Kristofer M. |date= May 2019 |title= Temporal shifts in the distribution of murine rodent body size classes at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia) reveal new insights into the paleoecology of ''Homo floresiensis'' and associated fauna |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |language=en |volume= 130 |pages= 45–60 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.02.002 |doi-access= free |hdl= 2440/121139 |hdl-access= free |pmid= 31010543 |bibcode= 2019JHumE.130...45V }}</ref> Also present were the Komodo dragon and another smaller monitor lizard (''Varanus hooijeri''),<ref name=":0" /> with birds including a giant stork (''Leptoptilos robustus'') and a vulture (''Trigonoceps'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Meijer |first1= Hanneke J. M. |last2= Sutikna |first2=Thomas |last3= Wahyu Saptomo |first3= E. |last4= Tocheri |first4= Matthew W. |date= July 2022 |title= More bones of ''Leptoptilos robustus'' from Flores reveal new insights into giant marabou stork paleobiology and biogeography |journal= Royal Society Open Science |language= en |volume= 9 |issue= 7 |article-number= 220435 |bibcode= 2022RSOS....920435M |doi= 10.1098/rsos.220435 |doi-access= free|issn= 2054-5703 |pmc= 9277297 |pmid= 35845853 }}</ref>

==Extinction==

The youngest ''H. floresiensis'' bone remains in Liang Bua date to 60,000 years ago, and the youngest stone tools to 50,000 years ago. The previous estimate of 12,000 BP was due to an undetected unconformity in the cave stratigraphy. The timing of their disappearance from the cave stratigraphy is close to the time that modern humans reached the area, which may suggest the effects of modern humans directly on ''H. floresiensis'' or more broadly on the ecosystems of Flores caused or contributed to their extinction.<ref name="Callaway2016">{{cite journal |last1= Callaway |first1= E. |date= 30 March 2016 |title= Did humans drive 'hobbit' species to extinction? |journal= Nature |doi= 10.1038/nature.2016.19651|s2cid=87482781 }}</ref> DNA analysis of pygmy modern humans from Flores has found no evidence of any DNA from ''H. floresiensis''.<ref name="tucci2018">{{cite journal |last1=Tucci |first1=Serena |last2=Vohr |first2=Samuel H. |last3=McCoy |first3=Rajiv C. |last4=Vernot |first4=Benjamin |last5=Robinson |first5=Matthew R. |last6=Barbieri |first6=Chiara |last7=Nelson |first7=Brad J. |last8=Fu |first8=Wenqing |last9=Purnomo |first9=Gludhug A. |last10=Sudoyo |first10=Herawati |last11=Eichler |first11=Evan E. |last12=Barbujani |first12=Guido |last13=Visscher |first13=Peter M. |last14=Akey |first14=Joshua M. |last15=Green |first15=Richard E. |date=August 2018 |title=Evolutionary history and adaptation of a human pygmy population of Flores Island, Indonesia |journal=Science |volume=361 |issue=6401 |pages=511–516 |bibcode=2018Sci...361..511T |doi=10.1126/science.aar8486 |pmc=6709593 |pmid=30072539}}</ref>

A 2025 study has suggested that climatic deterioration may have been a contributing factor in the disappearance of ''Homo floresiensis'' from the area of Flores surrounding Liang Bua and abandonment of the cave. Geochemical evidence from Liang Bua indicates a prolonged drying trend intensifying around 61,000 years ago, coinciding with declines in local freshwater availability and in ''Stegodon florensis insularis'', a potential prey species. This does not necessarily coincide with the global extinction of ''H. floresiensis'' on Flores at this time, and they instead may have moved to/persisted in areas of the island which remained habitable.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gagan |first=Michael K. |last2=Ayliffe |first2=Linda K. |last3=Puspaningrum |first3=Mika R. |last4=van den Bergh |first4=Gerrit D. |last5=Scroxton |first5=Nick |last6=Hantoro |first6=Wahyoe S. |last7=Scott-Gagan |first7=Heather |last8=Condie |first8=Scott A. |last9=Edwards |first9=R. Lawrence |last10=Cheng |first10=Hai |last11=Zhao |first11=Jian-xin |last12=Hellstrom |first12=John C. |last13=Kimbrough |first13=Alena K. |last14=Gagan |first14=Matthew J. |last15=Suwargadi |first15=Bambang W. |date=2025-12-08 |title=Onset of summer aridification and the decline of Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua 61,000 years ago |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02961-3 |journal=Communications Earth & Environment |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=992 |doi=10.1038/s43247-025-02961-3 |issn=2662-4435|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=="Hobbit" nickname== {{Main|Hobbit (word)#Proprietary status}}

''Homo floresiensis'' was swiftly nicknamed "the hobbit" by the discoverers, after the fictional race popularized in J. R. R. Tolkien's book ''The Hobbit'', and some of the discoverers suggested naming the species ''H. hobbitus''.<ref name=Aiello/>

In October 2012, a New Zealand scientist due to give a public lecture on ''Homo floresiensis'' was told by the Tolkien Estate that he was not allowed to use the word "hobbit" in promoting the lecture.<ref>{{cite news |first= Julian |last= Lee |date= 24 October 2012 |title= Hobbit makers ban uni from using 'hobbit' |work= 3 News NZ |url= http://www.3news.co.nz/Hobbit-makers-ban-uni-from-using-hobbit/tabid/423/articleID/273952/Default.aspx |access-date= 29 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130607112003/http://www.3news.co.nz/Hobbit-makers-ban-uni-from-using-hobbit/tabid/423/articleID/273952/Default.aspx |archive-date= 7 June 2013 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2012, the American film studio The Asylum, which produces low-budget "mockbuster" films,<ref>{{cite web |last1= Somma |first1= Brandon |date= 4 January 2013 |title= Masters of the Mockbuster:What The Asylum Is All About |website= the-artifice.com |publisher= The Artifice |url= http://the-artifice.com/what-the-asylum-is-all-about/ |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref> planned to release a movie entitled ''Age of the Hobbits'' depicting a "peace-loving" community of ''H.{{nbsp}}floresiensis'' "enslaved by the Java Men, a race of flesh-eating dragon-riders."<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title= ''The Hobbit'' producers sue 'mockbuster' film company |publisher= BBC |date= 8 November 2012 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20252820 |access-date= 20 June 2024 }}</ref> The film was intended to piggyback on the success of Peter Jackson's film ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey''.<ref name=LAT>{{cite news |last= Fritz |first= Ben |date= 10 December 2012 |title= 'Hobbit' knockoff release blocked by judge |work= Los Angeles Times |url= http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-age-hobbits-blocked-20121210,0,6595906.story |access-date= 11 December 2012 }}</ref> The film was blocked from release because of a legal dispute over the use of the word "hobbit."<ref name="LAT"/> The Asylum argued that the film did not violate the Tolkien copyright because the film was about ''H.{{nbsp}}floresiensis'', "uniformly referred to as 'Hobbits' in the scientific community."<ref name="BBC"/> The film was finally released under its new title, ''Clash of the Empires''.

== See also == * Ebu gogo * Orang Pendek * {{annotated link|Homo luzonensis|''Homo luzonensis''}} * {{annotated link|Denisovan}} * {{annotated link|Neanderthal}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography === * {{cite journal |last1= Larson |first1= Susan G. |last2= Jungers |first2= William L. |last3= Morwood |first3= Michael J. |last4= Sutikna |first4= Thomas |last5= Jatmiko |last6= Saptomo |first6= E. Wahyu |last7= Due |first7= Rokus Awe |last8= Djubiantono |first8= Tony |date= December 2007 |title= ''Homo floresiensis'' and the evolution of the hominin shoulder |journal= Journal of Human Evolution |volume= 53 |issue= 6 |pages= 718–31 |pmid= 17692894 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.06.003 |bibcode= 2007JHumE..53..718L |url= https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/BiologicalAnthropologyJournalClub/Larson%20et%20al.,%202007.pdf?uniq=vvve70 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110613054424/https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/BiologicalAnthropologyJournalClub/Larson%20et%20al.%2C%202007.pdf?uniq=vvve70 |archive-date= 13 June 2011 }} * {{cite book |last1= Morwood |first1= Mike |last2= Oosterzee |first2= Penny van |title= A New Human: The Startling Discovery and Strange Story of the "Hobbits" of Flores, Indonesia |publisher= Smithsonian Books |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-06-089908-0}} * {{cite book |last= Stringer |first= Chris |year= 2011 |title= The Origin of Our Species |place= London |publisher= Allen Lane |isbn= 978-1-84614-140-9 }} * {{cite book |last= Tattersall |first= Ian |author-link= Ian Tattersall |year= 2015 |title= The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack and other Cautionary Tales from Human Evolution |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |isbn= 978-1-137-27889-0 }}

===Further reading=== * {{cite book |first=Dean|last=Falk|author-link=Dean Falk |title=The Fossil Chronicles: How Two Controversial Discoveries Changed Our View of Human Evolution |publisher=University of California Press |year=2011|isbn=978-0-520-26670-4}} * {{cite journal |author= Martin, R. D. |author2= MacLarnon, A. M. |author3= Phillips, J. L. |author4= Dussubieux, L. |author5= Williams, P. R. |author6= Dobyns, W. B. |date= 19 May 2006 |title= Comment on "The Brain of LB1, ''Homo floresiensis''" |journal= Science |volume= 312 |issue= 5776 |page= 999 |doi= 10.1126/science.1121144 |pmid= 16709768 |bibcode= 2006Sci...312.....M |doi-access= free }}

== External links == * Hawks, John. Blog of a professor of anthropology who closely follows this topic. :* {{cite web |title= Another diagnosis for a hobbit |date= 3 July 2007 |url= http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/hershkovitz_laron_syndrome_2007.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070718175809/http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/hershkovitz_laron_syndrome_2007.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 July 2007 }} :* {{cite web |title= The Liang Bua report |date= 10 August 2007 |url= http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/hershkovitz_laron_syndrome_2007.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070718175809/http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/hershkovitz_laron_syndrome_2007.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 July 2007 }} :* {{cite web |title= The forelimb and hindlimb remains from Liang Bua cave |date= 18 December 2008 |url= http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/jungers-larson-hindlimb-forelimb-2008.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081227150242/http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/jungers-larson-hindlimb-forelimb-2008.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 27 December 2008 }} :* {{cite web |title= Hominin remains from Mata Menge, Flores |date= 8 June 2016 |url= http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/mata-menge-van-den-Bergh-remains-2016.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160613033644/http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/flores/mata-menge-van-den-Bergh-remains-2016.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 13 June 2016 }} * {{cite web |title= ''Scientific American'' Interview with Professor Brown |website= sciam.com |date= 27 October 2004 |url= http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=digging-deeper-qa-with-pe |access-date= 20 June 2024 }} * {{cite news |author= Mayell, Hillary |date= 27 October 2004 |title= "Hobbit" Discovered: Tiny Human Ancestor Found in Asia |newspaper= National Geographic News |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041029001351/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html |access-date= 20 June 2024 |archive-date= 29 October 2004 }} * {{cite web |title= ''Homo floresiensis'' |website= humanorigins.si.edu |date= July 2022 |publisher= The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program |url= http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-floresiensis |access-date= 20 June 2024 }} * {{cite journal |last1= Obendorf |first1= Peter |last2= Oxnard |first2= Charles E. |last3= Kefford |first3= Ben J. |date= 5 March 2008 |title= Were ''Homo floresiensis'' just a population of myxoedematous endemic cretin ''Homo sapiens''? |type= blog commentary on the Obendorf paper |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume= -1 |issue=–1 |pages= –1 |url= http://anthropology.net/2008/03/05/was-homo-floresiensis-a-population-of-myxoedematous-endemic-cretin-homo-sapiens/ |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130112060448/http://anthropology.net/2008/03/05/was-homo-floresiensis-a-population-of-myxoedematous-endemic-cretin-homo-sapiens/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 12 January 2013 }} * {{cite web |title= Virtual Endocasts of the "Hobbit" |website= erl.wustl.edu |publisher= Washington University in St. Louis, Electronic Radiology Laboratory |url= http://erl.wustl.edu/research/imseg/hobbit.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20121215113209/http://erl.wustl.edu/research/imseg/hobbit.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 December 2012 |access-date= }} * {{cite news |last1= Purdy |first1= Michael C. |date=3 March 2005 |title= 'Hobbit' fossil likely represents new branch on human family tree |publisher= Washington University in St. Louis |url= https://source.wustl.edu/2005/03/hobbit-fossil-likely-represents-new-branch-on-human-family-tree/ |format= source.wustl.edu |access-date= 20 June 2024 }} * {{cite web |title= Alien from Earth |type= Nova's documentary website, complete program available through Watch Online feature |website= pbs.org |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hobbit/ |access-date= 20 June 2024 }} * {{cite web |date= 21 April 2009 |title= Hobbits in the Haystack: ''Homo floresiensis'' and Human Evolution |type= Turkhana Basin Institute presentation at the Seventh Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium |website= turkanabasin.org |url= https://www.turkanabasin.org/humanevolution/hew-07/ |access-date= 20 June 2024 }} * {{cite web |title= Human Timeline (Interactive) |website= humanorigins.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History |date= August 2016 |url= http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive |access-date= }}

Category:2003 archaeological discoveries Category:Early species of Homo Category:Pleistocene primates Category:Prehistoric Indonesia Category:Fossil taxa described in 2004 Category:Flores Island (Indonesia) Category:Extinct animals of Indonesia Category:Pleistocene mammals of Asia Category:Primates of Indonesia

Homo floresiensis

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