Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis

Remains of the most recently discovered early human species, Homo floresiensis (nicknamed ‘Hobbit’), have been found between 95,000 and 17,000 years ago on the Island of Flores, Indonesia. 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. Despite their small body and brain size, H. floresiensis 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 H. floresiensis 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. Pygmy elephants on Flores, now extinct, showed the same adaptation. The smallest known species of Homo and Stegodon elephant are both found on the island of Flores, Indonesia. However, some scientists are now considering the possibility that the ancestors of H. floresiensis may have been small when they first reached Flores.

Nickname: the Hobbit
Where Lived: Asia (Indonesia)
When Lived: About 95,000 – 17,000 years ago
Homo floresiensis lived about 95,000 – 17,000 years ago.
Year of Discovery: 2003
History of Discovery:
A joint Indonesian-Australian research team found LB-1—a nearly complete female skeleton of a tiny human that lived about 18,000 years ago—in Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia. The skeleton’s unique traits such as its small body and brain size led scientists to assign the skeleton to a new species, Homo floresiensis, named after the island on which it was discovered.

Since the initial find, bones and teeth representing as many as 12 H. floresiensis individuals have been recovered at Liang Bua—the only site where H. floresiensis has been found so far. The bulk of the finds related to H. floresiensis date between 95,000 and 17,000 years ago.

Height:
106 cm (3 ft 6 in) - estimate from a female skeleton
Weight:
30 kg (66 lbs) - estimate from a female skeleton