Kiwi connection to a significant discovery into our human origins
Thu Jun 09 2016 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Kiwi connection to a significant discovery into our human origins
09 June 2016
The fossilised remains of a small-bodied human ancestor found on the Indonesian island of Flores confirms the tiny species lived 700,000 years ago and was a distinct species rather than a deformed or diseased version of a modern human.
An international research team publishes its findings today in the prestigious journal Nature on a new discovery in eastern Indonesia that sheds further light on our ancestral past.
The team includes volcanologist Associate Professor Brent Alloway, formerly of Victoria University now at the University of Auckland’s School of Environment.
Two hominin fossil discoveries have been made on Flores, one in 2004 and this latest find, in 2014. The earlier discovery caused debate over whether the fossils represented an early ancestor of Homo floresiensis, a tiny species of human immediately dubbed “the Hobbit” because of its 1-metre height and its disproportionally large feet.
Scientists say this second discovery, at a site called Mata Menge, 75km away from the original site at Liang Bua, is much older but has strong skeletal affinity with that of Homo floresiensis - most likely a dwarfed descendant of Homo erectus, an ancestor to modern humans.
Fossils found at Mata Menge included teeth, skull and jaw fragments. These fossil remains were dated by a variety of techniques which indicate the newly discovered material pre-dates the H. floresiensis fossils found in 2004 by as much as 650,000 years.
Homo floresiensis are thought to have evolved from Homo erectus once they reached the island of Flores where the isolation and harsh environment caused them to reduce in size, a phenomenon called island dwarfism.
Associate Professor Alloway says the evidence uncovered at Mata Menge provides compelling evidence that Homo floresiensis were a distinct species living and evolving in complete isolation. Simple stone tools excavated at both sites are strikingly similar, indicating very little technological innovation over such a large time span. It appears that Homo floresiensis became extinct on Flores prior to the expansion of modern humans through SE Asia around 50,000 years ago. The reasons for their disapearance isn’t known.
Dr Alloway’s contribution to the project involved the description and dating of volcanic deposits present at the Mata Menge site which are associated with the hominin remains, and more importantly, identifying volcanic deposits at other sites that might preserve new hominin remains and artifacts that could potentially be targeted for future excavations.
“It is a dream come true to be part of this project and very humbling to be part of this ongoing research started by New Zealander Professor Mike Morwood who made the initial Homo floresiensis discovery back in 2004,” he says.
“To be able to look into our past, understand our origins and evaluate the ways that humans have navigated complex obstacles as they’ve dispersed through SE Asia is a true privilege,” he says.
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Anne Beston
Media Relations Adviser
Communications
The University of Auckland.
Email: a.beston@auckland.ac.nz, Tel: +64 9 923 3258, Mobile: + 64 (0) 21 970 089