A mysterious relative of the extinct human species nicknamed the "hobbit" may have once lived on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, new study suggests.
This finding could one day help shed light on the evolution of the hobbit, the researchers noted in the study.
In 2003, scientists unearthed 18,000-year-old fossils on the Indonesian island of Flores. The fossils belonged to an unknown hominin, a close relative of modern humans. Since then, scientists have suggested that this hominin, which had a brain about the size of a grapefruit, was a unique branch of the human lineage named Homo floresiensis and popularly known as "the hobbit" because of its diminutive 3-foot (1 meter) stature. [See Images of the 'Hobbit' and Evidence of Newfound Ancestors...
...The scientists detailed their findings in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Nature.
Article provided by John J. McNulty
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