Modern science has been studying human evolution for a long time and, it would seem, everything is already known. However, during excavations, finds are constantly being discovered that baffle scientists.
In 2003, archaeologists discovered the remains of an ancient man in the Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, who was immediately dubbed the "hobbit". Scientists named him Homo floresiensis and believed that he is a descendant of Homo erectus, who was isolated on the island for millions of years, due to which he degenerated and turned into a hobbit.
Liang Bua cave
Photo: Rosino / wikipedia.org / CC BY-SA 2.0
However, the lack of new fossils led scientists to assume that the hobbits were modern Homo sapiens, with birth defects, such as microcephaly or cretinism. At the same time, scientists could not establish what specific pathology turned people into hobbits, so this version remained controversial.
The new study showed that the hobbits were not deviant Homo sapiens. The re-dating of the remains has proven that their age ranges from 100 to 60 thousand years, and the tools they made - from 200 to 50 thousand years. While Homo sapiens appeared only 40 thousand years ago.
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These studies indicate that Homo floresiensis was a separate species of man, whose height was no more than a meter, and the brain was three times smaller than that of modern humans. However, scientists still have many questions about this. For example, how could a primitive species of people get to the island of Florence, which is separated from other islands by 20 kilometers of water.
Australian prehistoric scholar Robert Bednarik noted that the very fact that anthropologists are unable to come to common conclusions about the origin of Homo floresiensis speaks of the failure of modern paleoanthropology. Perhaps this is true, since scientists cannot answer questions not only about hobbits, but also about giants.
Did the giants also exist?
Giants are well known to people from mythology, but modern history does not mention them. Meanwhile, in different parts of the planet, they continue to find giant skeletons, the existence of which cannot be explained using modern paleontology. The last of these skeletons were discovered in Ecuador and Peru in 2013.
The found remains reached 243 centimeters in height, their age was 500-600 years. At the same time, scientists noted that these people did not suffer from any disease, including gigantism. Their bones and joints were not damaged, and hormonal changes were also not observed. In addition, one of the giants was 60 years old at the time of his death. Those suffering from gigantism do not live to this age.
In October last year, the giant remains were sent for examination, which will last about a year. The analysis will examine the DNA of the Shuar living in the excavation area. They will be compared to the DNA of giants. Perhaps the study can shed light on the existence of a race of giants that modern history does not tell about?
