{"id":7356,"date":"2021-06-22T12:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/?page_id=7356"},"modified":"2024-06-12T13:36:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T17:36:16","slug":"are-ancient-hobbits-actually-humans","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/genetics\/are-ancient-hobbits-actually-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Ancient &#8220;Hobbits&#8221; Actually Humans?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p><span>Fossils of a small \u201cHobbit\u201d hominin were discovered in 2003 on an island in Indonesia. Called <\/span><i><span>Homo floresiensis<\/span><\/i><span>, paleoanthropologists have debated if this hominin is a distinct species from modern humans<\/span><i><span>. <\/span><\/i><span>The fossils reveal a unique blend of anatomical characteristics not seen in other hominins. These dwarves of the human species were about three and a half feet tall and had interesting morphology such as no chin, small brains, large front teeth, receding foreheads, and big feet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"aligncenter\">\n    <div class=\"sketchfab-embed-wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LB1 - Homo floresiensis [skull]\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"fullscreen; autoplay; vr\" xr-spatial-tracking execution-while-out-of-viewport execution-while-not-rendered web-share width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/sketchfab.com\/models\/4e424b65d4804a6f9be00215e5172128\/embed\"> <\/iframe> <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\n<em>The physical features of Homo floresiensis are reconstructed from fossil remains like this skull, the first specimen ever found.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>It is unclear if these features mean that <\/span><i><span>H. floresiensis<\/span><\/i><span> was genetically distinct from other species. The fossils may represent members of another species, such as <\/span><i><span>Homo erectus<\/span><\/i><span>,<\/span> <span>that was subject to island dwarfing. They may even represent ancient<\/span><i><span> Homo sapiens<\/span><\/i><span> with growth disorders. <\/span><i><span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><span>The recent discovery of a fossilized jaw bone and teeth nearby have helped fill the gap between <\/span><i><span>Homo floresiensis<\/span><\/i><span> and its earlier ancestors, but it has not clarified the distinct relationships between species. Also unanswered is the question of how these hominins got to an isolated island and what they were like before living there.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7357 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-3-Autumn1sm.png\" alt=\"Homo floresiensis\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-3-Autumn1sm.png 600w, https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-3-Autumn1sm-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-3-Autumn1sm-597x358.png 597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Reconstructions of Homo floresiensis often depict them as ape-like, but the actual genetic relationship between them and modern humans is unknown.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Autumn Knight (\u201923)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center has-mimic-h-5-font-size wp-block-heading\">Investigate other genetics questions<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/genetics\/where-did-modern-humans-originate\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        Where Did Modern Humans Originate?    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/genetics\/what-is-the-impact-of-genes-introduced-by-non-humans\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        What is the Impact of Genes Introduced by Non-Humans?    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        Human Evolution Exhibit Home    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fossils of a small \u201cHobbit\u201d hominin were discovered in 2003 on an island in Indonesia. Called Homo floresiensis, paleoanthropologists have debated if this hominin is a distinct species from modern humans. The fossils reveal a unique blend of anatomical characteristics not seen in other hominins. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":0,"parent":7300,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"overlay_title":false,"hide_featured_image_post":false,"wfu_hide_page_title":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7356","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are Ancient &quot;Hobbits&quot; Actually Humans? - Timothy S. Y. 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