Real Hobbits May Be Hiding in Indonesia, Anthropologists Believe

We’re all familiar with the fuzzy creatures from Middle Earth. However, today’s topic concerns the real-life ancient human species known as Homo floresiensis. The mystery surrounding these pint-sized hominins has recently garnered more public and scientific attention. A professor of anthropology believes that hobbits could still be alive and well in the isolated regions of Flores Island.

Their discovery has fascinated the scientific community.

The discovery of Homo floresiensis, also known as “hobbits,” on the Indonesian island of Flores has puzzled scientists and the public alike for years. The small-bodied hominins, thought to have lived as recently as 18,000 years ago, are a separate species from modern humans and were unlike anything seen before.

“To find that as recently as perhaps 13,000 years ago, there was another upright, bipedal creature walking the planet at the same time as modern humans is as exciting as it was unexpected,” said Peter Brown, a paleoanthropologist at the University of New England.

They met the modern human.

Chris Stringer, director of the Human Origins program at the Natural History Museum in London, described the discovery as “completely unexpected.”

He added that “to have early humans on the remote island of Flores is surprising enough. That some are only about a meter tall with a chimp-size brain is even more remarkable. That they were still there less than 20,000 years ago, and [that] modern humans must have met them, is astonishing.”

Researchers have 2 theories.

The hobbit lived between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago, around 10,000 years before Homo sapiens arrived in the area.

The discovery of these miniature beings caused a stir in the scientific world when they were first uncovered in 2003. One theory is that they evolved from an earlier hominin species, while others believe they were modern humans with genetic abnormalities. Despite the ongoing debates, what’s certain is that these tiny people lived on Flores Island.

They may be hiding in Indonesia.

Based on the fossils found, Homo floresiensis stood about 3.5 feet tall and weighed only 66 pounds. Also, their skulls are about the size of grapefruits.

Gregory Forth believes that the Hobbits are still kicking today. “We simply don’t know when this species became extinct or, indeed, dare I say — I did dare say — we don’t even know if it is extinct,” he explained. “So there is some possibility that it is still alive.”

There are 30 eyewitness tales of similar creatures that match the description of the hobbit.

They claim to have seen these creatures in the flesh. These reports similarly describe the hobbits as that of the anthropologist Forth.

After many eyewitness stories, scientific evidence of the existence of hobbits has yet to be discovered. Because of the lack of evidence, many skeptics dismiss the claims as simply legends or folklore. However, this discovery and tales have piqued the research community’s interest. Only time and further research will tell whether hobbits still live among us.

What do you think of this discovery? Do you believe that real hobbits still exist? Let us know in the comments.