Boston - Researchers have come out and stated that they have found more “hobbit” fossils, this time in Palau. These fossils are of tiny, island-dwelling humans from thousands of years ago. This renews the debate over whether or not they are tiny humans from the past.
There has been quite a scientific debate over the last few years, ever since the discovery of a “hobbit” fossil was made in 2004 in Indonesia.
The debate is asking whether the fossils came from a species of miniature humans, or just from ordinary people who were harmed by a disease.
Many studies have challenged the findings in Indonesia that small “hobbit” people used to live on these islands and then evolved.
The discovery of these similar fossils though has only added to the debate once again.
The new report is in the journal PLoS One. The “hobbit” people are said to have lived between 1,400 and 3,000 years ago and share many features of other earlier specimens, Homo floresiensis.
The new fossils have been found in Palau, an island chain in the western central Pacific.
The fossils were found in two caves, with over a dozen being found. One was of a 95lb man and a 64lb female.
Researchers stated “These individuals are likely to be from a human population who acquired reduced stature, for some reason.”
Source: www.dbtechno.com (14 Maret 2008)
