The extinct ‘Hobbits’ of Flores are some of our most interesting yet enigmatic relatives says Will Newton.
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They lived hidden away on their island ‘paradise’ for nearly one million years before mysteriously disappearing 50,000 years ago. This is what we’ve learnt about them so far.
Who were Homo floresiensis?
Standing just 1.1m (3ft 7in) tall, Homo floresiensis is the smallest member of the Homo genus. It’s no surprise, given the species’ stature, that they’ve been nicknamed ‘Hobbits’ after the diminutive species from J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy world of Middle-Earth.
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As well as being small, Homo floresiensis had a small brain - similar in size to that of a chimpanzee’s and several extinct species of australopithecines - robust leg bones, large, flat feet, and no chin. Its teeth were also unique amongst hominins, displaying both primitive and advanced traits.
A small brain doesn’t seem to have hindered Homo floresiensis much in the intelligence department, though. According to a 2005 study on its brain, the part of the prefrontal cortex associated with cognition is about the same size as that of modern humans (Homo sapiens).
Homo floresiensis has also been found alongside stone tools, suggesting it killed, butchered, and maybe even cooked its prey. The use and manufacturing of tools is considered a sign of high intelligence and a hallmark of our genus.
When was Homo floresiensis discovered?
The first remains of Homo floresiensis were discovered as recently as 2003 in Liang Bua - a limestone cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia.
These remains included a nearly complete skeleton and several other fragments of bone. As of 2015, the partial skeletons of no fewer than 15 individuals have been uncovered from this particular site.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis came as a shock to the scientific community and confused most palaeonanthropologists who long thought that only modern humans had reached the island of Flores.
It was also historically thought that small-statured hominins were confined to Africa and that only larger species such as Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, and later members of Homo (i.e. Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans) left the continent and spread across Eurasia.
Why was Homo floresiensis so small?
There are two competing theories as to how Homo floresiensis arrived on the island of Flores and, subsequently, became so small.
The first and most well-supported theory is that the species is a product of island dwarfism and descended from a group of Homo erectus who found themselves trapped on Flores roughly one million years ago, perhaps after sea levels rose and separated the island from its neighbour, Java.
The term ‘island dwarfism’ refers to an evolutionary process whereby typically large animals shrink in size after their population’s range becomes limited to an island. There are several reasons why they may shrink, but the most significant selective pressure is a lack of resources - smaller animals require less food and smaller territories, so it’s beneficial to be small.
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In the tropics, where the island of Flores is found, small size also makes thermoregulation easier.
Contrary to this theory, there are some that believe Homo floresiensis are an archaic species of human and descendants of a group of australopithecines (or Homo habilis) that spread from Africa to Far East Asia in a so-far-undetected migration.
This theory is based on the fact that Homo floresiensis displays a lot of ‘primitive’ traits reminiscent of australopithecines, such as its large, flat feet. While this is supported by several phylogenetic analyses based on morphology, no material evidence of australopithecines have been found outside of Africa.
What did Homo floresiensis eat?
Homo floresiensis’ diet was not so different from the diet of other hominins. It was an omnivore, like us, and is thought to have eaten a variety of native plants and hunted several different types of animals, from dwarf elephants known as Stegodon to giant rats such as the extant Papagomysand extinct Spelaeomys.
While Homo floresiensis was near the top of the food chain on Flores, it wasn’t the island’s apex predator. That title goes to either the Komodo dragon or the 1.8m-tall stork, Leptoptilos robustus. Both of these predators would have been capable of killing a Homo floresiensis and swallowing it whole.
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Why did Homo floresiensis become extinct?
When Homo floresiensis was originally discovered in 2003, their remains were dated to just 12,000 years ago. That estimate has since been backdated to 50,000 years ago, which is just before the earliest evidence of modern humans on Flores (~46,000 years ago).
This removes modern humans from the question of why Homo floresiensis became extinct, but it doesn’t solve the mystery. Their disappearance is likely down to rapid climate change in the region, though to prove this is the primary driver of extinction we need to find more evidence.
Some think Homo floresiensis may still be alive today and that encounters with them in the forests of Flores have sparked the local myth of the Ebu Gogo.
