Hobbits: fact or fiction?

Question

http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html

"A species of tiny human has been discovered, which lived on the remote Indonesian island of Flores just 18,000 years ago.

Researchers have so far unearthed remains from eight individuals who were just one metre tall, with grapefruit-sized skulls. These astonishing little people, nicknamed 'hobbits', made tools, hunted tiny elephants and lived at the same time as modern humans who were colonizing the area."
jaybee

Usenet · Accepted Answer

Lunch.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html "A species of tiny human has been discovered, which lived on the remote Indonesian island of Flores just 18,000 ... made tools, hunted tiny elephants and lived at the same time as modern humans who were colonizing the area." jaybee[/nq]
The thing I want to know is if anything like these small dudes were running around Europe or Ireland giving rise to the whole wee people thing. So far they only found these guys on this one ocean locked Island. If they find this was a wider phenomena that would be even more mind blowing although it already is fantastic. I wonder why people in general are not more blown away by another species of human living up to 12000 BC. That is nothing. Like a few days before yesterday.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]"Jacques E. Bouchard" >[/nq]
[nq:2]"A species of tiny human has been discovered, which lived ... time as modern humans who were colonizing the area." jaybee[/nq]
[nq:1]The thing I want to know is if anything like these small dudes wererunning around Europe or Ireland giving rise ... blownaway by another species of human living up to 12000 BC. That is nothing. Like a few days before yesterday.[/nq]
The Neanderthal phenomenon totally fascinates my wee head and freaks me out big time, dying out only 28000 years ago. I sometimes wonder if the myths about ogres and other such frightful humanoids to may to some degree arise from them. If the interbreeding theory is correct, if that might explain the behavior and attitudes of some of our brethren.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Lunch.[/nq]
EXT. JUNGLE - FLORES, INDONESIA - DAY
SPECKLED LEAF the size of elephant ears move aside revealing the main camp of the KIMUMUWIWI tribe.
INSERT CAPTION : "Remote Island of Flores, Indonesia 8,000 years ago"
X'LULO warrior-priest looks across at a circle of GRASS HUTS. Smoke rises from a dozen cooking
fires.
He moves quickly towards one of the grass huts.
TUARA, wife of X'lomo wearily stirs a paddle
within a large copper pot over a fire.
X'LULO (O.S.)
What's for tea?
Tuara moves aside so X'lulo can see for himself.
X'lulo groans as he sees a giant python and a
little man floating in the pot.
X'LULO
Oh no... Not snake and
pygmie pie again...
Paul :-)Nz
.

Usenet · Answer

I like the "hunted tiny elephants" part.

Usenet · Answer

@reader1.panix.com:
[nq:1]I like the "hunted tiny elephants" part.[/nq]
I think they meant to say "oliphants"...
jaybee

Usenet · Answer

"Distortion"
[nq:1]F&#&*** a@H182O82T83M83A9I9388&#.C9O3M[/nq]Yes. Your are wise Distortion. It would go a long way to explain my next door neighbors for example among others, many others.. Society dismisses the fables as stories from idiots scared of the night... Well what if some of them were true. I was reading a while back that they found a huge area slumped off the continental shelf around Norway and it was the size of Rhode Island. They thought it might be 14000 BC.
Well they were theorizing that it would have put out a 1300 foot high wave that would have swept down and destroyed everything in its path on the coastlines of the Northern British Isles. Since people would have had their villages by the sea for trade and fish they say it would have depopulated Scotland and that might explain the less developed culture in the north in early times as compared with the south.
If it happened at night shepherds could have gone up the hills to watch the sheep and then in the morning looked down and the whole country was depopulated. Omega Man and some sheep. One can imagine the explanations people who survived would have to come up with for their kids to sleep at night if for nothing else. Now throw in Neanderthals and these softball head guys both living up high in those caves over there... I'd sleep with my stick with a rock tied on the end of it that's for sure.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html "A species of tiny human has been discovered, which lived on the remote Indonesian island of Flores just 18,000 ... 'hobbits', made tools, hunted tiny elephants and lived at the same time as modern humans who were colonizing the area."[/nq]
Isn't that fantastic? I heard the news about this on the BBC a few months ago and was practically bouncing off the walls, laughing with joy. Think of it - not just the discovery of a new race (which is pretty exciting in and of itself) but a race of Wee Folk! What an amazing world we live in!

As usual the American media was conspicuously quiet on the matter, as they usually are when it comes to any major discovery that smacks of things like science and evolution. It's not surprising to me that you're only just now hearing about it. I have to wonder if it's because they're afraid of ******* off the Religious Right or because they just assume most Americans don't care about such things.
I was raised on stories about little people, having been raised by German parents, but I've always had a greater fascination with giants - if only they could turn up a couple of them! Or maybe a race of Cyclops! Now that would kick some serious ***.
What an amazing world we live in.
Cheers,
B

Hobbits: fact or fiction?

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