Real Hobbits!

[Umbran]

Common wisdom has it that modern humans have been the only critters fo the genus Homo on this planet for the past 25,000 years.

I got my copy of the newest Scientific American in the mail today. The feature article is about a race of hominids that lived as recently as 13,000 years ago, roughly the size of hobbits. A possible source for stories of teh "wee folk"?

Nothing from the article up on the magazine's website yet for me to link to. More after I've had a chance to read the article thoroughly.

 

[tarchon]

Common wisdom has it that modern humans have been the only critters fo the genus Homo on this planet for the past 25,000 years.

I got my copy of the newest Scientific American in the mail today. The feature article is about a race of hominids that lived as recently as 13,000 years ago, roughly the size of hobbits. A possible source for stories of teh "wee folk"?

Nothing from the article up on the magazine's website yet for me to link to. More after I've had a chance to read the article thoroughly.

There were... let's see... maybe 6 different threads on H. floresiensis a couple months back.

 

[Umbran]

There were... let's see... maybe 6 different threads on H. floresiensis a couple months back.

Yes, well, as you can see from my "registered user" title, I don't have the ability to easily search back and find out if a topic has already been covered. I'm terribly sorry if you find having another thread on the topic to be a waste. But though I am here most days, I don't recall any such threads. The thing is news to me, and I thought it interesting.

 

[tarchon]

Yes, well, as you can see from my "registered user" title, I don't have the ability to easily search back and find out if a topic has already been covered. I'm terribly sorry if you find having another thread on the topic to be a waste. But though I am here most days, I don't recall any such threads. The thing is news to me, and I thought it interesting.

I didn't say it was a waste, just noting it.

 

[GlassJaw]

There were... let's see... maybe 6 different threads on H. floresiensis a couple months back.

Well here's 3, anyways.

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105179

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105199

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105302

 

[Ranger REG]

Common wisdom has it that modern humans have been the only critters fo the genus Homo on this planet for the past 25,000 years.

I got my copy of the newest Scientific American in the mail today. The feature article is about a race of hominids that lived as recently as 13,000 years ago, roughly the size of hobbits. A possible source for stories of teh "wee folk"?

Nothing from the article up on the magazine's website yet for me to link to. More after I've had a chance to read the article thoroughly.

And where is the last known settlement for such a small species? If they're found in the Pacific, they're not hobbits, they're menehunes.

 

[Turanil]

The feature article is about a race of hominids that lived as recently as 13,000 years ago, roughly the size of hobbits. A possible source for stories of teh "wee folk"?

Okay, it's interesting from a scientific perspective. It's really interesting because we will eventually discover that back 15,000 or 25,000 or older than that were many strains of different hominid species (including these "halfling" and Neanderthal), while nowadays only exist humans. But then, who knows if the legend of the Big-foot isn't true (I don't believe in it in fact), and that this would be a strain of another hominid specie that didn't entirely disappeared. That would be cool to discover.

By the way, all those people who are so excited about "halfling" sized humans living 13,000 years ago, seem to forget that there is still a race of "halfling-sized" humans these days: pygmies (the DNA is the far much different from that of ALL other current human ethnic groups together).

 

[Desdichado]

Well, they're all humans, Tur. All Homo sp. In the case of the Neanderthals, most workers today even believe them to be Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.

 

[Turanil]

Okay, okay, but I guess that Neanderthal PCs get a +2 to Strength, -2 to Charisma, then don't have a bonus feat and bonus skill points, but get +4 to Fortitude checks to resist inclement weather, and +2 to their Survival checks, and huuuh... well, don't know how to balance that race. Maybe that's the cause of their exctinction?

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

And where is the last known settlement for such a small species? If they're found in the Pacific, they're not hobbits, they're menehunes.

Only in Hawaii.

Now, Japan has the korobokuru, Sri Lanka* the nittaewo, and Indonesia the orang pendek.

Which seems to indicate that H. Floriensis was fairly widespread for people to still remember them.

Brad

* - In my Cryptozoology A-Z book, it mentions that there was a population of nittaewo until the 17th century, when they were finally wiped out by the Sri Lankans.