Kion D. Bolden
History of Life (CRST
290)
RESEARCH TOPIC SELECTION
HOMO FLORESIENSIS
The species of choice for my research paper is that of the Homo Floresiensis,
scientifically known as the “tiny human” or “the Hobbit” due to their short stature. They
stood approximately 3 feet 6 inches tall and were estimated to average around 66lbs in
weights. As stated by the Smithsonian Institution, this human fossil is “one of the most
recently discovered early human species.” Amongst the many excavated the hobbits were
one of the last early
human species to become extinct. According to documented scientific data, they became
extinct around 50,000 years ago. This species walked the earth roughly about 100,00 –
50,000 years ago. Known to have lived in Asia until as early as 54,000 years ago, the
Homo Floresiensis were discovered in Asia on the Indonesian island of Flores back in
2003.
The choosing of this species was primarily weighed on it being the most recent in its
discovery. Though the remains have only been discovered on the Island of Flores, its
captivating to possibly learn that they could have evolved from the ancestors in and
migrated from Africa.
• Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. “What Does It Mean to Be
Human?” Homo Floresiensis | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program,
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 1 Mar. 2010,
humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-floresiensis.
