proof of Third Age?
by John at 10/27/2004 02:15:00 PM
An exciting discovery for Tolkien nerds everywhere!
Scientists have discovered the skeletal remains of hobbits on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, which some say may be the modern remnants of The Grey Havens. The 18,000 year old skeletons throw into question some of Tolkien's murky chronology, but they are undeniably proof that "hobbit-sized" humanoids (dubbed Homo floresiensis) did in fact dwell on the island sometime in the distant past before the Age of Man.
Flores is "a kind of tropical Lost World," also home to miniature oliphants and dragons.
Homo floresiensis (artist's conception)
Scientists have discovered the skeletal remains of hobbits on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, which some say may be the modern remnants of The Grey Havens. The 18,000 year old skeletons throw into question some of Tolkien's murky chronology, but they are undeniably proof that "hobbit-sized" humanoids (dubbed Homo floresiensis) did in fact dwell on the island sometime in the distant past before the Age of Man.
Flores is "a kind of tropical Lost World," also home to miniature oliphants and dragons.
Homo floresiensis (artist's conception)
Maybe this find will encourage Peter Jackson to make "The Hobbit"...I've been hoping that maybe they filmed it secretly while doing the Lord of the Rings to no avail...
Jackson's Hobbit would be great! I will, however, always have a soft spot in my heart for the Rankin Bass version.
I made light of it, but this is actually seriously cool. If the scientists are correct, this is a descendent of Homo erectus that lived clear up until near modern times - about 12,000 years ago, when this small population of "hobbits" was wiped out by a volcanic eruption. At about this same time, it is widely held that N and S America were being colonized by Siberians and agriculture was invented.
Further amplifying the coolness: there is evidence that these people used tools and fire, despite having a brain 1/4 the size of modern man. Notice I called them people? Physically, they were much more like chimps than humans, but they behaved like humans. It may change they way we think about the separation of human and animal.
Yet more: The small size of these people could be an example of the extreme adaptability of hominids to the environment. The current inhabitants of the island have stories about the little people who used to live there. Which raises questions about yeti and sasquatch...
Good links on this story:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html
http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html
Definitely amazing. The BBC has an artist's interpretation that is pretty cool too.
So they were wiped out by a volcano eh, maybe Barad-Dur?
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