Dry Spell on Flores May Have Driven Hobbits From Their Cave Refuge
New stalagmite-based climate records from Flores show a progression from wetter conditions to a pronounced summer aridification between 61,000 and 47,000 years ago, a shift that coincided with the decline of Homo floresiensis and its pygmy-elephant prey (Stegodon). As freshwater sources dwindled and resources tightened, the hobbits abandoned Liang Bua and possibly encountered expanding Homo sapiens; a volcanic ash layer dating to ~50,000 years ago could have further contributed to their final decline. The study emphasizes freshwater availability and climate stress as key factors in this extinction within the broader context of human evolution.
