Sunday, March 05, 2006

Homo Lineages

I just watched a show on the whole Hobbit controversy. It was, of course, pinky deep. There were some interesting arguments for an against the whole Hobbit is a different species. There were two that were opposed:

1. The Hobbit's brain is simply too small. It fits better with a microcephalic H sapiens individual in percentage wise than a derived, dwarf H erectus. The Hobbit has a brain of about 490 cc and erectus has a brain of about 700 cc (and change). When animals go dwarf, they typically lose about 15% of their brain size for half their vertical height (iirc). The Hobbit lost a lot more than that if its from erectus.

2. The technology that was exhibited by the Hobbit was far and away much better than any that the H erectus has ever been found with. In fact, it's a tool kit only ever been found with H sapiens. No other homind has this tool kit. Ever.

The answer to 1. is that they have muliple individuals over a prolonged period. That hurts. However, the comment that this is just plain wrong based on what we know of evolutionary biology and island dwarfism. There's either a chance this ia the first case where what we think we know, doesn't work. Or...

Has anyone considered this might be something more like a H habilis descedent?

As for the tech toolkit. Could they have traded or stolen them? Or at elast the rudiments?


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