Homo floresiensis

Courtesy of Peter Brown

In classifying the specimen LB1 (above), found on the island of Flores in Indonesia, Australian and Indonesian scientists noted its short stature (1 meter) and small cranial capacity, measured at 380 cm³. While they contend it represents a new species, others claim it is a Homo sapiens with microcephaly. Further testing may sort its origins if more researchers can gain access to the sample. A modern human skull is shown at right for comparison.

Paleoanthropology is among the most quarrelsome of fields, so it is no surprise that researchers have gone to war over the remarkable bones discovered in a Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003. But the battle over the Flores find (nicknamed 'The Hobbit' because the type specimen, LB1, is just one meter tall12) has an extra element, bizarre even for human paleontology. An influential scientist not connected with ...