Whither the Flores Hobbit of Indonesia? A new Study Hints at Evolutionary Pressures for Insular Dwarfism...even for people
To say the Hobbits of Flores are a controversial topic in paleoanthropology is putting it mildly. They were announced in 2004 and dubbed a new species, Homo floresiensis. The fossils showed a people standing at 3 ft 6 inches (1.05 m) and had a very small brain. The suggestion was H. floresiensis was a form of Homo erectus that went through the process of island dwarfing.
The backlash was almost as immediate as the fanfare was. Some researchers claimed the new hominins were just unfortunate individuals who were modern human beings, possibly of the Rampasasa people who currently reside on Flores and are of a shorter stature. The individual fossils were suffering from microcephaly, a condition where the individual's brain does not grow properly and produces a much smaller brain and head than the norm for modern human beings.
Researchers rapidly took sides and the fight has been going on ever since. Some gave way towards the H. floresiensis fossils being a new species who had previously opposed when a study of the wrist bones suggested the the Hobbit had a far, far more primitive wrist than a modern human. In fact, it was more primitive than even H. erectus. This suggested the Hobbit was descended from a species other than even H. erectus. The wrist bones, it should be noted, are not effected by microcephaly at all. Hence, why some researchers conceded.
However, even a decade after the wrist bone study, the fight goes on. Both sides continue to try to bolster their position even if it appears the 'new species' camp seems to have a far stronger position. Some folks just don't give up.
There is one way to settle this once and for all. That would be to recover DNA from the Hobbit fossils. However, the environment, warm and humid, tends to degrade DNA, so the fossil DNA so far has been too bad of shape to extract and compare to modern human beings.
Then, someone thought, if we can't extract DNA from the fossilized residents of Flores, we definitely can extract DNA from the local residents that currently present. They would also help determine if they were related to the Hobbits, if not prove they were the Hobbits. A test was done. DNA given and tested. The results...The results were interesting.
We know modern human beings interbred with other types of humans. Neandertals and modern humans interbred, but only a small fraction of their DNA lives on in us. No Neandertal mitochondrial DNA has ever been found. Likewise, Denisovans seem to have interbred with modern humans as well. There is also some evidence of other archaic hominins interbreeding with modern humans as well. If there was admixture between the Hobbits and modern Rampasasa people, it ought to show up.
What did the results show?
The study appeared in today's Science journal. As would be expected, the Rampasasa people do, in fact, have Denisovan and Neandertal ancestry. Its even in an amount consistent for the Oceanic peoples. However, no evidence showed up of older, more archaic species of hominins, like the Hobbits.
What was found was there was genetic evidence of recent insular dwarfism in the Rampasasa people. This means both hominins, the modern humans in the Rampasasa people and the Hobbits both went through the same process. This means people are far from immune the same processes that produced the dwarf stegodon and other miniature creatures on islands.
Interesting, it's quite fascinating because i'm from Indonesia myself. The dwarfism is quite extreme there, i wonder what factors are contributing a lot, my first guess would probably be a lack of food, but no conclusive proofs yet sadly
There are probably two things going on here.
The first is, as you said, nutrition is a problem and probably 'fixable' over time. Remember, it used to be Americans were giants @176 cm in China 100 years ago. Not so much anymore. In time, as Indonesia's economy improves, people will grow in height. At least most will.
There are some that are genetically smaller. The island dwarfism appears to be case where people who are smaller in restricted environments, normally islands, have an advantage over the larger folk: they need less food and their children need less per child. That increases the chance a child will grow to adulthood and have more kids. This leaves a permanent genetic change and their descendants will be like this. This happens for most large mammals. There had been a massive debate over whether or not it also applied to people. The answer is, yes. Yes, it does.
100,000 years ago, the world was far more like the Lord of the Rings. There were many kinds of humans and our relatives. The Denisovans, Neandertals, modern humans, Hobbits, Red Deer Cave People (China), Homo heidelbergensis, probably some pockets of Homo erectus, and possibly hominins we haven't and may never find. The question becomes, why are we the only ones left?
You are always welcome to join us and get more recognition for your posts. You can find more information about geopolis here or join our Discord server.