1. Brandon Zaya 008917961
Brandon Zaya
Professor Weiss
04/21/15
Paleoanthropology
The Hobbit
The Hobbit is not just another excellent Percy Jackson movie, but an extremely small
human being that is the center of an ongoing controversy. The small human is officially
nicknamed “Hobbit” due to height of the tiny human. She stands at a solid 3 feet tall and is
challenging current scientific thinking. Nothing like Hobbit has ever been discovered before,
therefore the discovery team set her in a new species called Homo floresiensis. Researchers
believe she is a brand-new species, others think she is affected by island dwarfism, some believe
that she contracted a pathogen that made her shrink, and a few scientists believe that she is just a
dwarfed homo erectus.
Hobbit was found in a cave on the island of Flores, in Indonesia by a half Australian half
Indonesian team. Michael Morwood, an Australian scientist, led a team of eager excavators in
Indonesia and accompanied by a regional expert; during their expedition they came across a 3-
foot tall woman nicknamed Hobbit. Hobbit walked around Indonesia around 25,000 to 13,000
years ago. As soon as this new species (homo floresiensis) surfaced theories that she was a
modern human who was infected by a disease which caused her to shrink came up. Those
theories were turned down quickly because if a diseased were the reason for her shrinkage; Not
only the body would have reduction but the brain must mimic the body. And to this day, there is

2. Brandon Zaya 008917961
no disease that is capable of shrinking the brain and body. The second theory is that Hobbit is
merely a dwarfed Homo erectus. It would be logical to see the Hobbits as descendants of Homo
erectus because their origin is of the same continent. But, the hind legs, brain capacity, and
eyebrow ridge are all factors that prove why they cannot be related. The discovery team used a
CT scan to collect information on the brain capacity and resulted with 400cm3 similar to those of
a chimpanzee. The average brain capacity of a homo erectus is 930cm3. This proves that they
could not be dwarfed homo erectus because dwarfism involves the disproportion or deformation
of features or limbs. Brain is not affected by dwarfism therefore Hobbit cannot be a descent of
Homo erectus due to brain size difference. Also, the hind legs of Homo erectus are long while
the hind legs of Homo floresiensis are very undersized; and the feet of a Hobbit are much larger
than a Homo erectus. The third theory came up asking if they had been victims of Island
dwarfism. Island dwarfism occurs when people live on islands with limited resources and over
time your body develops into a smaller shape in order to cope with your environment. While this
could be true, this is but another theory just like the rest. Hobbit’s brain capacity is widely
underrated. Her brain size is not large but extremely low, even for her small stature and
comparing her brain size to her total size would deem her unintelligent but her cognitive
capabilities are strong judging by the stone tool technology that was found near the excavation of
Hobbit.
In 2009, more similar fossils were discovered including 8 hobbit-like skeletons. The
features of Hobbit shared similar features found in “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis). These
features were reinforced jaws and flared hipbones. The skull of Hobbit is very concrete, bent
around forehead, and the sockets of the eyes had outstanding brow ridges. Homo floresiensis
appears to be bipedal and show primitive wrists and that some researchers have conclude that

3. Brandon Zaya 008917961
Hobbit shares some characteristics of chimps. The main reason as to why Homo floresiensis are
a controversial species is because Hobbit challenges current scientific thinking. Challenging
science infuriates scientists because it discredits what they have originally believed in. That’s
why many shoot down a new and evolutionary piece of evidence as soon as it surfaces. When
that occurs, we must focus on the other side of the spectrum so our views are not perceived as
single-minded thoughts.
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Reference:
Dean Falk (2011). The Fossil Chronicles: How Two Controversial Discoveries Changed Our
View of Human Evolution. California: University of California Press
Karen Baab, William Jungers (2009) The Geometry of Hobbits: Homo Floresiensis and Human
Evolution. New York: University Medical Center