A New Human

About this book

In the most revolutionary archaeological find of the new century an international team of archaeologists led by Mike Morwood discovered a new diminutive species of human on the remote Indonesian island of Flores. Nicknamed the Hobbit this was no creation of Tolkiens fantasy. The three foot tall skeleton with a brain the size of a chimpanzees was a tool-using fire-making cooperatively hunting person who inhabited Flores alongside modern humans as recently as 13 000 years ago. This book is Morwoods description of this monumental discovery and the intense study that has been undertaken to validate his view of its relationship to our species. He chronicles the bitter debates over Homo Floresiensis the objections (some spiteful) of colleagues the theft and damage of some of the specimens and the endless battle against government and academic bureaucracies that hindered his research. This updated paperback edition contains an epilogue that reports on the most recent debates findings and analyses of this amazing discovery.