All,
I suppose I could have placed this post under some already existing “floresiensis” heading, here on the Prehistory Board, but I liked the title too much and I’ll certainly not apologize for it!
Here is a short media piece on recent developments in the “hobbit” controversy. Even if only partly accurate, the story does suggest that Mike Morwood seems to be running way ahead of whatever evidence there is regarding the true identity of the central personage. And to make things even more curious, it appears that this has been done without the knowledge of one of his Liang Bua collaborators/co-authors, Bert Roberts and, curiously, the story makes no reference to Peter Brown’s view on all this.
It is to be hoped that there will soon be a follow up on Morwood’s speculations. If only to make life more interesting.
Hobbits may be earliest Australians
Carmelo Amalfi and Leigh Dayton
THE AUSTRALIAN -- December 08, 2005
THE tiny hobbit-like humans of Indonesia may have lived in Australia before they became extinct about 11,000 years ago.
The startling claim comes from archaeologist Mike Morwood, leader of the team that in 2003 uncovered remains of the 1m-tall hominid at Liang Bua cave on Indonesia's Flores island.
They believe the pint-size person - known officially as Homo floresiensis and unofficially as the "Hobbit" - was wiped out by a volcanic eruption that spared their Homo sapiens neighbours.
Speaking at a public lecture in Perth, Professor Morwood from the University of New England in Armidale, NSW, raised the prospect that Hobbits colonised Australia before Aboriginal settlers arrived about 60,000 years go.
He suggested that the Hobbits may have been pushed out by the bigger people, in part because their population was too small to compete.
"This is seriously being discussed now by the archaeological community in Australia as a result of our work in Indonesia," Professor Morwood said.
He suggested that further field work at sites in Indonesia and northern Australia could provide answers.
But one of Professor Morwood's colleagues on the discovery team was surprised by the notion of Hobbits in Australia. "It's the first I've heard about it," said Bert Roberts, a dating expert with the University of Wollongong.
"Call me a wet blanket, but I'm not sure where Mike thinks he's going to excavate."
Click
HERE for the full article.
Jacques Cinq-Mars
