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It’s a Small World: A New Human Species (October 29, 2004, Two)

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Program Summary

Welcome a long-lost cousin to the family. The 18,000-year-old remains of a previously unknown species of human have been found on the Indonesian island of Flores. The find is remarkable not only because it adds to the human family tree, but because the new species is incredibly small.

The skeleton of the adult female is barely three feet tall, with a skull that contained a brain about the size of a grapefruit. Stone tools such as points, perforators, and blades were found at the site along with bones of a miniature version of the stegadon, an ancestor of the elephant, indicating that the tiny humans may have hunted tiny prey. A variety of bones from seven other individuals have also been uncovered.

Where did these humans come from and why were they so small? Anthropologists theorize that Flores man was an offshoot of Homo erectus, who is known to have occupied nearby islands more than a million years ago. This offshoot probably became dwarfed over time as a result of living in isolation in an environment with limited resources, a common phenomenon in island ecosystems. Flores man was obviously successful for quite a long time, existing as a species long enough to overlap with Homo sapiens, who appears in southeast Asia about 55,000 to 35,000 years ago.

Did Flores man ever meet Homo sapiens face-to-face? It’s an intriguing question. Wonder what they would have talked about.

Guests

Rick Potts, paleoanthropologist and director of the Human Origins Program at the National Museum of Natural History of the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC

Related Links and Resources

News@nature.com, October 27, 2004: “Flores Man: Human Evolution Writ Small” (subscription required)
Nationalgeographic.com, October 27, 2004: “"Hobbit" Discovered: Tiny Human Ancestor Found in Asia”

For Discussion:

• What is remarkable about the new human species?
• Where do scientists think this species came from? Why were they so small?
• Why did Flores man disappear?
• What other human species died out? Why weren’t they successful?
• How will this discovery change our thinking about human evolution?

Activities

Small wonder. Visit the Flores Man page at News@nature.com for in-depth information about the discovery and an interview with the archaeologists who made and analyzed the find. View the Family Tree at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History and decide where Flores man should go.

Caveman chronicles. The very best site for understanding human evolution is the British Broadcasting Company’s Walking With Cavemen, originally a four-part television series. The Human Evolution pages are a chronology of the various species. TV Programmes summarizes each episode and details the science and production stories behind them. In the Fact Files, clicking on a drawing opens a window with photos and information about that creature as well as a menu with clips from the program. The most fun is the Caveman Challenge, a series of entertaining games and quizzes that even adults will enjoy.

Which way did they go? How Did Humans Evolve?, a PBS lesson plan, involves students in online activities that teach archaeology, evolution, and the process of deductive reasoning. Going the Way the Wind Blows, a lesson plan from the New York Time Learning Network, examines how climate and geography affected the evolution and migration of ancient hominids. The Life and Times of Early Man has a simply written summary of early man’s development, including a cheat sheet! The Ancient History Lesson Ideas page has a variety of activities, from reproducing cave art to creating a prehistoric community.

What’s in a name? Have students research the names of hominid species and ascertain why each one was given its particular name.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

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