Conflicting Dental Evidence On Homo Floresiensis

Ancient tiny people whose remains were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores evolved from large-bodied Homo erectus individuals from Asia, according to the first ever comprehensive analysis of their teeth. The teeth were certainly not equivalent to those of our species, which negates the theory that hobbits were somehow deformed modern humans and not a new species. The teeth were also not equivalent to those of very early humans like Australopithecus and Homo habilis. The hobbit's teeth and skull were most similar to those of Java Man, according to the researchers.

Dr María Martinón-Torres, a University College London anthropologist, remains perplexed by the ancient humans' teeth. Their canines have an asymmetrical shape when viewed from the outside, while their molars are relatively short and only have four cusps. Those of most primitive humans had five.