B.B.C. Article

The diminutive human species nicknamed "the Hobbit" is older than previously recognised, scientists now say.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis in 2003 caused a sensation because it seemed the creature could have been alive in the quite recent past.
But a new analysis indicates the little hominin probably went extinct at least 50,000 years ago - not the 12,000 years ago initially thought to be the case.


Work continues to excavate the sediments in Liang Bua Cave

Researchers report their revised assessment in the journal Nature.
Prof Bert Roberts, from the University of Wollongong, Australia, says the new dating actually resolves what had always been a head-scratcher: how it was possible for floresiensis to survive for 30,000 to 40,000 years after modern humans are believed to have passed through Indonesia.
"Well, it now seems we weren't living alongside this little species for very long, if at all. And once again it smells of modern humans having a role in the downfall of yet another pieces," he told BBC News.

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B.B.C. Article
Hobbit find shows tiny humans shrank 'rapidly'
Scientists have discovered the 700,000-year-old ancestor of the tiny primitive human known as "the Hobbit".
Its fossils indicate that the normal-sized primitive humans who first set foot on the Indonesian island of Flores shrank "rapidly" to become Hobbit-sized.
The remains are of at least one adult and two children, who are all just as small as their descendents.
A paper in the journal Nature details the latest findings.
The Hobbit's discovery in a cave on Flores created a sensation 12 years ago. Just a metre in height (hence the affectionate nickname), it was initially thought they could have been living as recently as 12,000 years ago.

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