Convoluted human evolution: Hobbit's ancestors even smaller (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, August 07, 2024, 16:47 (109 days ago) @ David Turell

Another comment:

https://www.sciencealert.com/smallest-known-species-of-human-may-have-had-an-even-small...

"'This very rare specimen confirms our hypothesis that the ancestors of Homo floresiensis were extremely small in body size; however, it is now apparent from the tiny proportions of this limb bone that the early progenitors of the 'Hobbit' were even smaller than we had previously thought," Brumm says.

"Two notably tiny teeth – one from an adult and one from a child – were also found at the Mata Menge site during subsequent excavations in 2015 and 2016. The archeologists think their shape suggests H. floresiensis is descended from a Javan population of Homo erectus, challenging hypotheses suggesting the small human might have split away from a more ancestral African species.

"'The evolutionary history of the Flores hominins is still largely unknown," says Brumm.

"'He says the fossils suggest this species of human "did indeed begin when a group of the early Asian hominins known as Homo erectus somehow became isolated on this remote Indonesian island, perhaps one million years ago, and underwent a dramatic body size reduction over time".

"While modern inhabitants of the Indonesian highlands, the Rampasasa, are also small in size, a 2018 genetic study showed no evidence of a direct relationship to H. floresiensis.
(my bold)

"There may even be benefits favoring small-statured humans in this particular environment similar to those that benefit many island-bound animals of reduced size, leading to the tiny trait evolving multiple times.

Comment: note my bold. If the Rampasasa are H. sapiens what are the Hobbits? Are they so mutated their DNA is really different andv hides a relationship?