An international research team led by Professor Yoji Haibe of the University of Tokyo has reported in the journal Nature Communications the discovery of a partial humerus fossil in the Indonesian island of Flores, dating back about 700,000 years. This fossil has been confirmed to belong to the small hominin species Homo floresiensis, or the “Hobbit.” This is the smallest human fossil ever discovered worldwide.
The 9-centimeter-long fossil was unearthed in 2013. Researchers estimate that the complete humerus would have been around 20 centimeters long, indicating an individual of approximately 100 centimeters in height. This is about 6 centimeters shorter than other Homo floresiensis individuals found in layers dating back about 60,000 years. Approximately 1 million years ago, Homo erectus, a species with a stature similar to modern humans, migrated to the island. Over the following 300,000 years, their body size dramatically decreased and remained small for another 700,000 years.
The research team stated, “This discovery reveals the evolutionary process of the enigmatic Homo floresiensis and the diverse human landscape in Asia.” Homo floresiensis disappeared around 50,000 years ago, before the emergence of modern humans.