"Flores Man"

[Justo Peralta]

For the cryptozoology enthusiasts and others interested...

This has been gettin popular press recently, the hobbit sized homonid species discovered recently on the island of Flores, between New Zealand and Indonesia proper. Skeletal remains demonstrate an adult "Flores 'Man'" is even smaller in stature than an African pygmie, and has cranial characteristics that are fundementally distinct from humans. They have excavated at least a few individuals. And....the radiocarbon and luminescence dates (and stratigraphic placement?) have placed their occupation on the island to only 18,000 years ago.

I caught a blub on this whole thing on one of those Nature/Nova PBS shows late night last week, interviewing Jared Diamond and doing a good job of selling this new find to the public.

More on Homo Floresiensis: http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html

I'll go back to the primordial lurking state now, presentation and final public archaeology paper eminent

 

[xfer]

I remember reading about this...they also talked about how locals have ancient legends of dwarves that weren't taken seriously before? some kind of cultural memory?

 

[Justo Peralta]

I remember reading about this...they also talked about how locals have ancient legends of dwarves that weren't taken seriously before? some kind of cultural memory?

It's interesting that anatomically modern humans migrated out to Indonesian islands and out to Polynesia possibly as early 60,000-40,000 years before present, so there are definite possibilities of stories of dwarves reflecting a social memory with some real historic content. Also I remember hearing how the Flores island had not only miniature hominids but mini-elephants and other macrofauna? A mini-me island?

 

[xfer]

best macrofauna = GIANT SLOTHS

 

[0sm0se]

This has happened in the past due to an evolutionary phenomenon called the founder effect .