New Research Asserts that the Hobbits of Indonesia Vanished Earlier than Previously Believed

The pint-sized Homo floresiensis, nicknamed Hobbits, may have met their demise much earlier than previously believed. Recent research suggests that they lived around 50,000 years ago and not between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago as initially claimed.

According to an article published in the journal Nature, the results of current research challenge previous reports that these inhabitants of the remote Flores island co-existed with modern humans for tens of thousands of years.

Phys.org says that the research project led by the Indonesian scientists, and involving researchers from Griffith University's Research Centre of Human Evolution (RCHE), discovered problems with the prior dating efforts at the cave site Liang Bua.

The new work was directed by the Associate Professor Maxime Aubert, a geochronologist and archaeologist at RCHE, who, with RCHE's Director Professor Rainer, measured the amount of uranium and thorium inside Homo floresiensis fossils to test their age. Aubert provided the newest conclusions:

“In fact, Homo floresiensis seems to have disappeared soon after our species reached Flores, suggesting it was us who drove them to extinction. The youngest Hobbit skeletal remains occur at 60,000 years ago but evidence for their simple stone tools continues until 50,000 years ago. After this there are no more traces of these humans.”