The hobbit of a lifetime

[AndyStaples]

Anthropologists have discovered the skeletons - one very well preserved - of a previously unknown dwarf human species on an Indonesian island. According the the BBC report I heard on the radio tonight, it's being nick-named 'The Hobbit'.

Full story from Yahoo news.

I particularly like the bit at the bottom about local legends mentioning three-foot tall humans on the island where the skeletons where found.

[tkdguy]

This is a popular story around here. We posted links here in and in the NGD board too. But the Yahoo link you posted says it best, because that's the one I posted too.

The only problem is the scientist found a skeleton of a woman. Why is the picture that of a man?

[CrosshairCollie]

I just hope people don't start actually thinking this means that there actually were hobbits and all that other Tolkien stuff in the real world. It's just a nickname, people ... get over it.

[arcady]

Heard this one on NPR the other day. npr.org is supposed to have additional info but I never bothered to check.

What it does show is that indeed multiple intelligent species is the norm for Earth, and the present condition of there seemingly being only one is abnormal - perhaps as much a mistake of history as gunpowder and the rock that hit at the of the dinosaur era.

[tkdguy]

You needn't worry about people trying to find Middle Earth here, ChC. We're only having fun with the name. Besides, it was Yahoo who likened them to Hobbits.

[CrosshairCollie]

You needn't worry about people trying to find Middle Earth here, ChC. We're only having fun with the name. Besides, it was Yahoo who likened them to Hobbits.

It's not here I'm worried about. It's THEM ... out THERE.

[tkdguy]

It's not here I'm worried about. It's THEM ... out THERE.

There will always be people who believe incredible things; there's no getting around that. I doubt it will get out of hand, though.

On the other hand, there's a new idea out there for fiction writers to play with.

[NightStick]

It was a SCIENCE writer for the AP who likened the skeleton to a Hobbit

By JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA, AP Science Writer

It's not here I'm worried about. It's THEM ... out THERE.

Gosh, don't you think that it could have been the COFFEE that stunted their growth?
I mean, they found these artifacts in a cave that was surrounded by COFFEE farms.
It just stands to reason that the COFFEE was the cause!



(yeh right)

[tkdguy]

It was a SCIENCE writer for the AP who likened the skeleton to a Hobbit

Isn't pop culture great? Then again, Tolkien wasn't considered mainstream pop culture until the movies came out. There's hope for us geeks yet.

[taxboy4]

It's not here I'm worried about. It's THEM ... out THERE.

Try living in the country that filmed LOTR, lots of weird tourists running thru our countryside looking for Bilbo...