Scientists Finally Reveal Why 'Hobbits' Were So Small

Until was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was defined by bigger and bigger brains.

Via a process called encephalization , human brains evolved to be relatively more massive than would be expected based on corresponding body size.

This proportionally bigger brain is what anthropologists argued enabled us and our relatives to perform more complex tasks such as using fire, forging and wielding tools, making art and domesticating animals.

But these theories had to be thrown out the window when archaeologists announced our fossil cousins Homo floresiensis via scientific publication in 2004. lived from about 700,000 to 60,000 years ago in the rainforests of Indonesia, partially contemporaneous with our own species.

Aptly nicknamed Hobbits, were