Hobbit discovery: 700,000-year-old find could shed new light on evolution

A 700,000-year-old hobbit has been discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores, shedding new light on human evolution.  The dwarf-like ancient relative of modern man stood just one metre tall and has been dated at half a million years older than a hobbit found on the island a decade ago.  The researchers argue their fossil find descended from Homo erectus, which would suggest an incredible case of evolutionary reversal where human bodies — including brains — actually shrunk.

Blogger Comment:

The simplest explanation is that the "hobbits" are Australopithecines.  The material evidence is consistent with this and inconsistent with both Homo habilis and Homo erectus.  The view that they were later species that "shrunk" is not the simplest theory, and the proposition that smaller primate brains would be more adaptive than larger brains is exceedingly unlikely and needs plausible supporting argument.  There are many examples of other primates (orang utans, gibbons, japanese macaques) migrating enormous distances from their place of speciation.