The Early Human Hobbit Vanished 61,000 Years Ago — And Climate Change May Be to Blame

Hobbits May Have Been Victims of Climate Change

The branches of the human family tree have grown a lot more convoluted over the past 20 years. First, geneticists discovered that Neanderthals interbred with humans. Then, paleontologists unearthed the Denisovans in Asia, an archaic species or subspecies that also coexisted with modern humans. But perhaps the most peculiar addition to our genus in the past two decades is Homo floresiensis—the diminutive “hobbits” of Indonesia. Nautilus Members …

Why did the hobbits disappear? New evidence points to a clear answer

A cave climate record shows that a long, intensifying drought likely pushed the “hobbit” humans to disappear from Flores.

Hobbits died out due to rainfall decline on Indonesian island of Flores, say scientists

Researchers now believe the hobbits’ extinction was driven by multiple overlapping crises: a steep drop in rainfall, a shrinking food supply, and a powerful volcanic eruption.

The Early Human Hobbit Vanished 61,000 Years Ago — And Climate Change May Be to Blame

Learn how a major shift toward drought reshaped the Flores ecosystem and may have driven the hobbits to extinction.

Severe drought pushed the ‘hobbits’ of Flores toward extinction 61,000 years ago

In 2003, bones pulled from a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores surprised scientists worldwide. The remains belonged to a small human relative no one had known about before: Homo floresiensis. Standing only about 3.5 feet tall, these people soon earned the nickname “hobbits.” Their discovery raised a major question. Did they survive long enough to meet modern humans, and did that contact end their story? Later work changed that idea. Better…