Drought on Flores Island Likely Ended the Real-Life Hobbits’ Refuge
TL;DR
Researchers reconstructed ancient rainfall on Flores Island using a stalagmite from Liang Luar cave, revealing three climate phases and a final prolonged dry spell around 61,000–47,000 years ago that coincides with the disappearance of Homo floresiensis and their pygmy-elephant prey Stegodon florensis insularis, suggesting dwindling resources forced the hobbits to abandon Liang Bua and potentially encounter modern humans who arrived on the island later.
Topics:scienceworld#drought#flores-island#homo-floresiensis#liang-bua-cave#stegodon-florensis-insularis#world
- The real-life 'Hobbits' survived on an Indonesian island for thousands of years, until a long drought may The Times of India
- ‘Hobbits’ likely scavenged dragons’ kills Science News
- Hobbit-like human relatives may have been on a less advanced evolutionary path CNN
- Flores Hobbits’ eating habits offer clues about their evolutionary past Ars Technica
- Homo floresiensis was a scavenger, not a hunter, and did not control fire, fossil study finds Archaeology News Online Magazine
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