• More Evidence Emerges That Indonesian "Hobbits" Were A Separate Species
    30 replies, posted
[quote]While film buffs have been arguing over the need to make The Hobbit into three different films, anthropologists have been busy debating the origins of real hobbits, whose remains were discovered in Indonesia only a decade ago. In 2003, researchers uncovered 18,000-year-old bones of a woman with a skull a third of the size of a human's on the island of Flores, Indonesia. They subsequently found more remains belonging to up to nine similarly pint-sized prehistoric creatures. Nicknamed after the the J.R.R. Tolkien characters, they stood some 3 and a half feet tall. The origin of these hobbits has been controversial, as claiming they are a different kind of hominid closer to Homo erectus than Homo sapiens throws a wrench in many established theories of human evolution. But Frodo fans can delight in new evidence that hobbits did in fact belong to the extinct species Homo floresiensis. A study published in Journal of Human Evolution last week shows hobbit wrists were markedly different from humans', lending credence to the theory that they were a separate species from Homo sapiens. After studying the differences between the carpal bones of the Homo floresiensis remains discovered in 2004 and modern human and Neanderthal wrists, scientists says that hobbits weren't just abnormally small humans. Being different comes at a price, though. Because hobbit wrists weren't well shaped to bear loads equally on both sides of the arm, hobbits probably couldn't grip very well, or at least were subject to more frequent fractures and arthritis. Although researchers have exacted basic stone cutting tools from up to 800,000 years ago on Flores, the structure of their wrists probably restricted hobbits' ability to make and use tools. Hobbits reached Indonesia by 1 million years ago, and went extinct 17,000 years ago. Some researchers contend that rather than being a separate species, hobbits were deformed humans with a developmental disorder that would account for their small stature and brain.[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/more-evidence-emerges-hobbits-were-separate-species[/url]
Source doesn't work, I wonder how religion will feel about this one
[QUOTE=SubbyV-2;39199261]Source doesn't work, I wonder how religion will feel about this one[/QUOTE] Source works.
[QUOTE=Irkalla;39199304]Source works.[/QUOTE] Hmm, i am clicking on it and getting page not found
[QUOTE=SubbyV-2;39199261]I wonder how religion will feel about this one[/QUOTE] "It's a midget."
Source works for me.
So we have a second species on earth just as smart as humans? Pretty cool. Ah shit I meant had not have, take it easy guys.
source works absolutely fine for me are your graphics card drivers up to date?
I want an image of what they thought these Hobbits looked like.
[QUOTE=koeniginator;39199409]source works absolutely fine for me are your graphics card drivers up to date?[/QUOTE] Regional exclusion. Use: [URL]http://www.proxfree.com/[/URL]
[QUOTE=Bradyns;39199522]Regional exclusion.[/QUOTE] I believe that is the case here, I've searched the website for the original source and i cannot find it.
[QUOTE=Iago;39199392]So we have a second species on earth just as smart as humans? Pretty cool.[/QUOTE] 1) They're extinct 2) Their brains were small
[QUOTE=Boaraes;39199577]1) They're extinct 2) Their brains were small[/QUOTE] brain size doesnt have much to do with intelligence afaik
[QUOTE=Boaraes;39199577]1) They're extinct 2) Their brains were small[/QUOTE] Homo sapien brains are smaller than Neanderthal brains, your point?
[QUOTE=SubbyV-2;39199261]I wonder how religion will feel about this one[/QUOTE] Religion will be so upset it might actually have to phone in sick to work
To think that earth could have been home to 2 intelligent species
no one knew about this in the museum of natural history downtown of a naked sculpture of one of them getting attacked of a big cat and i took a picture of me flipping it off because fuck you
[QUOTE=Boaraes;39199577]1) They're extinct 2) Their brains were small[/QUOTE] If I remember correctly, intelligence is determined by the size of the brain relative to the size of the body. Mankind's brains are enormous compared to our bodies, so these Hobbits could have brains smaller than ours but proportionally large to their bodies making them possibly just as intelligent.
[QUOTE=teh pirate;39199636]brain size doesnt have much to do with intelligence afaik[/QUOTE] this is a simplification between humans, whose brains all have basically the same structure, larger brains = more smarts. however between [I]species[/I], this is often not the case because things like the relative proportions of grey and white matter etc. vary widely. a better proxy is the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalization_quotient]encephalization quotient[/url]. hobbits seem to be shaped roughly the same as humans, so it's at least plausible that they were less intelligent than us, but I don't know enough to say with any amount of certainty.
[img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/Homo_floresiensis_cave.jpg[/img] i bet these fuckers were horrifying
[QUOTE=koeniginator;39199647]Homo sapien brains are smaller than Neanderthal brains, your point?[/QUOTE] There is no evidence of that neanderthals were less intelligent than modern humans. In fact, many things point towards that they were more intelligent but less communicative (not as developed language center), which may very well have led to their downfall. A species of autists, one might say.
[QUOTE=Atlascore;39199819]It was.. then we killed them off. Look up Neanderthals.[/QUOTE] Actually it's looking more and more like we interbred with Neanderthals, it's actually pretty likely that they were the smart ones and we were the ones who went apeshit all the time.
[QUOTE=Mindtwistah;39203286]A species of autists, one might say.[/QUOTE] Oh good lord
[QUOTE=Mindtwistah;39203286]There is no evidence of that neanderthals were less intelligent than modern humans. In fact, many things point towards that they were more intelligent but less communicative (not as developed language center), which may very well have led to their downfall. A species of autists, one might say.[/QUOTE] Maybe Autism is caused by the last remaining shreds of neanderthal genetics but yeah probably not
[QUOTE=Zareox7;39199410]I want an image of what they thought these Hobbits looked like.[/QUOTE] [img]http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50cf2810ecad045d15000005-960/bilbo-baggins-the-hobbit.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;39203105]If I remember correctly, intelligence is determined by the size of the brain relative to the size of the body. Mankind's brains are enormous compared to our bodies, so these Hobbits could have brains smaller than ours but proportionally large to their bodies making them possibly just as intelligent.[/QUOTE] It's more about the area, not the size. If our brains were absolutely flat, the biggest one would have the most mental capacity, but they're not.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;39203287]Actually it's looking more and more like we interbred with Neanderthals, it's actually pretty likely that they were the smart ones and we were the ones who went [b]apeshit[/b] all the time.[/QUOTE] :v:
It's a shame they're extinct, had they developed alongside us they would have been paradise on earth for shortstack fans (the fetish, not the band). [editline]13th January 2013[/editline] then again, with smaller brains and deformed hands... eh
[QUOTE=Simski;39204855]It's a shame they're extinct, had they developed alongside us they would have been paradise on earth for shortstack fans (the fetish, not the band). [editline]13th January 2013[/editline] then again, with smaller brains and deformed hands... eh[/QUOTE] More of their own demise was open because they were short, weak, dumb, and couldn't hold anything. Their extinction was imminent and if we had been there and helped them they could have been a species reliant on us. (The way humans like to take care of things helplessly weaker than them, like kittens)
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;39203198] between humans, whose brains all have basically the same structure, larger brains = more smarts. .[/QUOTE] Lmao you know last time this was suggested on these forums someone pointed out that men have larger brains than women on average because of the effects of testosterone and a shit storm ensued
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