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The hobbit at 10

The remains of the tiny hominin Homo floresiensis (nicknamed the ‘hobbit’) still raise supersize questions ten years after the publication in Nature of their discovery in a cave on the remote island of Flores in Indonesia. This collection of reporting, comment and research — new and from Nature’s archives — examines the controversy surrounding the origins and validity of this species, including whether it belongs in our genus, Homo.
Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty

• The hobbit at 10
• Scientific American
• News archive
• News & Views
• Archive Specials
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The hobbit at 10

• The discovery of Homo floresiensis: Tales of the hobbit

  

  In 2004, researchers announced the discovery of Homo floresiensis, a small relative of modern humans that lived as recently as 18,000 years ago. The ‘hobbit’ is now considered the most important hominin fossil in a generation. Here, the scientists behind the find tell its story.

  Nature (22 October 2014)

• Human evolution: Small remains still pose big problems

  

  Ten years after the publication of a remarkable find, Chris Stringer explains why the discovery of Homo floresiensis is still so challenging.

  Nature (22 October 2014)

• Audio: Ten years on, hobbit mystery endures

  

  Ten years ago this month, researchers announced the discovery of a miniature human-like fossil. Nicknamed the ‘hobbit’, it transformed what scientists thought about human evolution. Here, Ewen Callaway discusses the hobbit find with four experts – including two of the original team.

  Nature (22 October 2014)

• Nature Collections: Homo Floresiensis – the ‘hobbit’ 10 years on

  

  The remains of the tiny hominin Homo floresiensis still raise supersize questions ten years after the publication in Nature of their discovery. This collection of reporting, comment and research — new and from Nature’s archives — examines the controversy surrounding the origins of this species, including whether it belongs in our genus, Homo.

  Nature (22 October 2014)

Scientific American

• The Hobbit: 10 Years Later

  

  In October 2004, paleontologists announced a new human species called Homo floresiensis. Ever since then, debate has raged on whether it truly is a new species or merely a diseased Homo sapiens.

  Scientific American (23 October 2014)

News archive

• Michael John Morwood (1950–2013)

  

  Rock-art archaeologist and driving force behind the 'Hobbit' discovery.

  Nature (21 August 2013)

• 'Hobbit' just a deformed human?

  

  Skull scans suggest that the small-brained Indonesian hominid was a modern human suffering from a developmental disorder.

  Nature (08 August 2011)

• Researchers to drill for hobbit history

  

  Prospects of recovering ancient DNA from Homo floresiensis boosted by study on teeth.

  Nature (05 January 2011)

• Notes from an excavation

  

  Russell L. Ciochon and his team are in Indonesia investigating the geological source and age of one of the world's biggest caches of Homo erectus.

  Nature (28 July 2010)

• Hobbit origins pushed back

  

  Stone tools reveal that hominins lived on the Indonesian island of Flores a million years ago.

  Nature (17 March 2010)

• 'Hobbit' was a dwarf with large feet

  

  Studies suggest Flores man was a distinct species.

  Nature (06 May 2009)

• Hobbit was 'a cretin'

  

  Fossil may be early example of hypothyroidism.

  Nature (04 March 2008)

• Wrist bones bolster hobbit status

  

  Ape-like wrists suggest that Homo floresiensis was a distinct species.

  Nature (20 September 2007)

• Rude palaeoanthropology

  

  Controversies over Homo floresiensis reflect a flourishing science.

  Nature (31 August 2006)

• Old tools shed light on hobbit origins

  

  Tiny toolmaker or microcephalic? The 'hobbit' debate continues.

  Nature (01 June 2006)

• Critics silenced by scans of hobbit skull

  

  Comparisons with pygmies and chimps bolster new species claim.

  Nature (03 March 2005)

• Little lady of Flores forces rethink of human evolution

  

  A new human-like species — a dwarfed relative who lived just 18,000 years ago in the company of pygmy elephants and giant lizards — has been discovered in Indonesia.

  Nature (28 October 2004)

News & Views

• Human evolution: Stranger from Siberia

  

  The DNA sequence from a bone fragment has revealed the existence of an unknown type of extinct human ancestor that lived in Asia 40,000 years ago.

  Nature (08 April 2010)

• Palaeoanthropology: Homo floresiensis from head to toe

  

  Fossils of tiny ancient humans have provoked much debate and speculation. Evidence that they are a real species comes from analyses of the foot and also — more surprisingly — of dwarf hippos.

  Nature (07 May 2009)

• An Asian perspective on early human dispersal from Africa

  

  We show here that it is time to develop alternatives to one of palaeoanthropology's most basic paradigms: 'Out of Africa 1'.

  Nature (22 December 2005)

• Palaeoanthropology: Human evolution writ small

  

  We are the only living species of the genus Homo. Given the startling results of a cave excavation in Southeast Asia, it seems that we coexisted with another species until much more recently than had been thought.

  Nature (28 October 2004)

Archive Specials

• Flores Man

  

  It sounds too incredible to be true, but this is not a hoax. A species of tiny human has been discovered, which lived on the remote Indonesian island of Flores just 18,000 years ago.

  Nature (27 October 2004)

• Web Focus: Flores Man

  

  Homo floresiensis lived on the island of Flores until a few thousand years ago, and appears to have been able to make stone tools, hunt, butcher and cook the pygmy elephants with which it shared its island home.

  Nature (13 October 2005)

Research papers

• The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia

  Johannes Krause, Qiaomei Fu, Jeffrey M. Good, Bence Viola, Michael V. Shunkov, Anatoli P. Derevianko & Svante Pääbo

  Nature (24 March 2010)

• Hominins on Flores, Indonesia, by one million years ago

  Adam Brumm, Gitte M. Jensen, Gert D. van den Bergh, Michael J. Morwood, Iwan Kurniawan, Fachroel Aziz & Michael Storey

  Nature (17 March 2010)

• Insular dwarfism in hippos and a model for brain size reduction in Homo floresiensis

  Eleanor M. Weston & Adrian M. Lister

  Nature (07 May 2009)

• The foot of Homo floresiensis

  W. L. Jungers, W. E. H. Harcourt-Smith, R. E. Wunderlich, M. W. Tocheri, S. G. Larson, T. Sutikna, Rhokus Awe Due & M. J. Morwood

  Nature (07 May 2009)

• Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia

  David Lordkipanidze, Tea Jashashvili, Abesalom Vekua, Marcia S. Ponce de León, Christoph P. E. Zollikofer, G. Philip Rightmire, Herman Pontzer, Reid Ferring, Oriol Oms, Martha Tappen, Maia Bukhsianidze, Jordi Agusti, Ralf Kahlke, Gocha Kiladze, Bienvenido Martinez-Navarro, Alexander Mouskhelishvili, Medea Nioradze & Lorenzo Rook.

  Nature (20 September 2007)

• Early stone technology on Flores and its implications for Homo floresiensis

  Adam Brumm, Fachroel Aziz, Gert D. van den Bergh, Michael J. Morwood4, Mark W. Moore, Iwan Kurniawan, Douglas R. Hobbs & Richard Fullagar.

  Nature (01 June 2006)

• A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia

  P. Brown, T. Sutikna, M. J. Morwood, R. P. Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wayhu Saptomo & Rokus Awe Due.

  Nature (28 October 2004)

• Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia

  M. J. Morwood, R. P. Soejono, R. G. Roberts, T. Sutikna, C. S. M. Turney, K. E. Westaway, W. J. Rink, J.- x. Zhao, G. D. van den Bergh, Rokus Awe Due, D. R. Hobbs, M. W. Moore, M. I. Bird & L. K. Fifield.

  Nature (28 October 2004)

Books & Arts

• Palaeoanthropology: Craniums with clout

  

  A look at two early human fossils reveals the prejudices in ideas about human evolution, finds Henry Gee.

  Nature (05 October 2011)

• In a hole in the ground...

  

  What happens when you find a hobbit — or a unicorn?

  Nature (25 April 2007)