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'Hobbit' was a disabled caveman
 THE remains of a fossilised stone age pygmy, hailed as a new species of human when it was found two years ago, probably belonged to a disabled but otherwise normal caveman, researchers have claimed. The discovery of the 18,000-year-old homo floresiensis on the Indonesian island of Flores was thought to be a major development in tracing human evolution when it was announced in 2004. However, a new analysis of the 3ft skeleton, nicknamed the hobbit, along with other remains found at the site, has indicated they probably belonged to an early human suffering from microcephaly, a condition that causes an abnormally small head and other deformities. The skeletal remains do not represent a new species, but some of the ancestors of modern human pygmies who live on the island today, concludes a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of Americas most respected scientific institutions. The individual exhibits a combination of characteristics that are not primitive but instead regional and not unique but found in other modern human populations. Posted by: lotp 2006-08-20 |
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