MessageToEagle.com – The origin of the mysterious hobbit species has puzzled scientists for many years. Who were these beings? Were did they really come from? Did they perhaps belong to another unknown species?
Now, scientists think they are getting closer to the truth and may soon unravel the mystery of the Hobbits.
In the large, cathedral-like Liang Bua (“ meaning ‘cool cave’ in the local Manggarai language”) cavern on the 220-mile island of Flores, Indonesia, which sits between the mainland of Asia and Australia, researchers have discovered the remains of strange, very tiny – only three feet tall as full grown adults – human beings, named Homo floresiensis.
The species has also been dubbed ‘hobbit,’ after the tiny creatures from the ‘Lord of the Rings.’
Researchers believe the species shrank in size after becoming stranded on Flores in Indonesia, possibly after a natural disaster.
They say this was down to something known as ‘the island effect’, which happens when a population evolves in a limited environment.
Scientists say “teeth from the hobbit suggest it belonged to a unique species rather than a modern human with a growth disorder. The new research also suggests hobbits may share a direct ancestor with modern humans. To learn more about the hobbit, scientists have now performed the first comprehensive analysis of the ancient human’s teeth.
The researchers compared the 40 known hobbit teeth with those from 490 modern humans from Asia, Oceania, Africa and Europe, as well as from a variety of extinct hominins, such as Homo habilis, which is suspected to be among the first makers of stone tools. (Hominins consist of humans and their relatives dating after the split from the chimpanzee lineage.) The researchers found hobbit teeth were as small as those from short modern humans. However, other features of these teeth looked completely dissimilar from those of modern humans.
new study. Pictured is the the skulls of a hobbit (left) and a modern human (right).
The hobbit teeth displayed a unique mosaic of primitive traits seen in early hominins mixed with more-advanced traits seen in later hominins, the researchers said. For instance, the canine and premolar teeth looked primitive, whereas the molar teeth looked advanced, or as if they had emerged later in the evolution of Homo sapiens, the scientists said.”
See also:
- Controversial Theory Suggests “Hobbits” Were Not Human
- Makhunik – 5,000-Year-Old City Of The Dwarfs
- People Who Predated Clovis Culture And Were Present In America Earlier Than Previously Thought
This discovery is intriguing because it contradicts earlier claims that hobbits possessed teeth entirely like those of modern humans. The results also suggest hobbits were not just modern humans with severe abnormalities, the researchers said.
Yousuke Kaifu, a paleoanthropologist at Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo and lead author of the study said “this work will turn the tide about the question of evolutionary origin of H. floresiensis”.
The study of the mysterious Hobbits will continue and without doubt bring more intriguing scientific discoveries in the near future.
MessageToEagle.com