Homo Floresiensis Vanished Much Earlier
‘Hobbit’ people disappeared 50,000 years ago
The extinct human species dubbed the “hobbits” vanished from their home on the Indonesian island of Flores far earlier than previously thought, say scientists who suspect our species may have had a hand in the demise of these diminutive people.
Researchers on Wednesday said they recalculated the age of bones of the species, named Homo floresiensis, that were found inside a Flores cave.
They determined the species disappeared about 50,000 years ago, rather than 12,000 years ago as previously estimated.
….Geochronologist Richard Roberts of Australia’s University of Wollongong said it was possible Homo sapiens played a role in the hobbits’ extinction and the issue would be a major focus of further research.
“To me, the question is, ‘Would the hobbits have become extinct if humans had never made landfall on Flores?’ And the answer is ‘no’,” Professor Roberts said.
“We were likely the decisive factor in their demise, but we still need to find hard evidence to back up this hunch.”
Numerous animals disappeared on Flores at the same time, said paleoanthropologist Matt Tocheri of Canada’s Lakehead University and the Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program.
These included small elephants, giant marabou storks, vultures and large Komodo dragon lizards.
After fresh excavations from 2007 to 2014 improved the understanding of the cave site, the scientists re-evaluated the ages of sediment containing Homo floresiensis remains and the actual bones.
The hobbits’ skeletal remains were 60,000 to 100,000 years old while their stone tools were 50,000 to 190,000 years old…
Full: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/hobbit-people-disappeared-50000-years-ago-20160330-gnupf1.html