Archeologists divided over 'Homo floresiensis'

Archeologists divided over 'Homo floresiensis'

Dewi Santoso and M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Archeologists are at odds over the discovery of the skeleton of a
dwarf-sized human species on the remote island of Flores, which
is said could rewrite the history of human evolution.

Archeologist Hardini Sumono of the University of Indonesia
said on Friday the discovery proved that between prehistoric
humans migrated from one part of the world to the other.

"It (the discovery) shows that prehistoric creatures did
migrate from one part of the world to the other, as their
skeletons are scattered in all parts of the world," said Hardini,
who is also a member of the Indonesian Archeologists Association.

She said further research on the skeleton would reveal the
origin of the species and its race, which would later confirm
whether or not it was connected with other species on the other
side of the world.

"To the archeological world, the skeleton means more than just
a discovery, as it will enrich our knowledge of the country's
prehistoric life and help us learn more about prehistoric
creatures," she said.

Archeologist Edi Sedyawati said the discovery could provide
new evidence to the theory that humans did not simply follow the
evolutionary path suggested by Darwinian scientists.

"There were species that lived in isolation of the outside
world and they had to conform with localized conditions, and it
thus impacted on their physical appearance," Edi, a former
director general of culture, told The Jakarta Post.

She suggested, however, that more research was needed to
confirm her hypothesis. "The final results of the research could
produce an opposite conclusion," she said.

Edi also said the skeleton's discovery would place Flores
under the world archeological spotlight, and the island would be
swamped by enthusiastic anthropologists.

"But we do not need to worry that the archeological gold rush
will strip the country of its valuable assets as there are
standing regulations that will protect any discoveries," she
said.

Last September, scientist Peter Brown, of the University of
New England, in Armidale, Australia, and his colleagues from the
Indonesian Center for Archeology in Jakarta found the skull and
incomplete skeleton of a creature known as LB1 in a limestone
cave at Liang Bua on Flores.

The creature is said to bear more of a resemblance to
fictional, barefooted hobbits than modern humans.

The partial skeleton of Homo floresiensis -- believed to be
18,000 years old -- is of a meter-tall adult female who had a
chimpanzee-sized brain and was substantially different from
modern humans (Homo sapiens).

The age of the skeleton points to the fact that its owner was
alive when Homo sapiens had not only come into existence, but had
already reached Australia.