Fossils of 'Hobbit' ancestors found on Indonesian island

[TomSea]

Fossils of 'Hobbit' ancestors found on Indonesian island

'It now appears that the Flores 'Hobbit' is indeed a dwarfed Homo erectus'

Fossils unearthed on the Indonesian island of Flores may resolve one of the most intriguing mysteries in anthropology: the ancestry of the extraordinary diminutive human species dubbed the "Hobbit."

Scientists on Wednesday described bone fragments and teeth about 700,000 years old retrieved from an ancient river bed that appear to belong to the extinct Hobbit species, previously known only from fossils and stone tools from a Flores cave ranging from 190,000 to 50,000 years old.

The species, called Homo floresiensis, stood about 106 centimetres (3.5 feet) tall, possessing a small, chimpanzee-sized brain.

More At: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/hobbit-flores-ancestor-1.3622484