Early ‘hobbit’ humans may have had even smaller relatives: Study

( NewsNation ) — A small, now-extinct species of prehistoric human known as the “hobbits” may have had even more diminutive ancestors, according to a new study published in the science journal Nature on Tuesday.

Homo floresiensis are extremely small humans who once lived on Flores Island, Indonesia, tens of thousands of years ago. When scientists first discovered fossils of this early human species, they estimated them to stand about 3 1/2 feet tall.

New humerus and teeth fossils found in deposits at Mata Menge, about 45 miles from the cave where the first so-called “hobbit” remains were uncovered, indicate Homo floresiensis’ relatives were actually 2.4 inches shorter. The same fossils indicate the species existed 700,000 years ago.

“An adult humerus is estimated to be 9 − 16% shorter and thinner than the type specimen of H. floresiensis dated to ~60,000 years ago, and is smaller than any other Plio-Pleistocene adult hominin humeri hitherto reported,” researchers wrote.

Study co-author Yousuke Kaifu, a professor at the University of Tokyo, said in an email to the Associated Press that they did not think they would find smaller individuals from “such an old site.”

Kaifu, as well as the other researchers, say Homo floresiensis evolved from a taller species called Homo erectus, which originated in Africa.

One suggestion, according to New Scientist , is that a small population of Homo erectus reached Flores and lived there in isolation, evolving to a smaller body size within 300,000 years, per Kaifu.

“They were small early and then they remained small for a long, long time,” he said in New Scientist. This is common for island-dwelling beings as food sources are limited, and a lack of large predators means they don’t have to necessarily be big, Kaifu said.

Some researchers debate whether this was the case, though, with Matt Tocheri, an anthropologist at Canada’s Lakehead University, saying more research and fossils are required to pin down the hobbits’ place in human evolution.

“This question remains unanswered and will continue to be a focus of research for some time to come,” Tocheri, who was not involved with the research, said in an email to the AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.