A mysterious human-like species who died out on an Indonesian island over 15,000 years ago were real life “hobbits”, according to scientists studying their fossil remains. The fossils of Homo floresiensis, dubbed “the hobbits” due to their tiny stature, were found on the island of Flores in 2003. Abc.net.au reports: Controversy has raged ever since as to whether they were an unknown branch of early humans or specimens of modern man deformed by disease. The study, based on an analysis of the skull bones, shows once and for all that the pint-sized people were not Homo sapiens, according to the researchers. Until now, academic studies have pointed in one direction or another and scientific discourse has sometimes tipped over into acrimony. One school of thought holds that so-called Flores Man descended from the larger Homo erectus and became smaller over hundreds of generations. The proposed process for this is called “insular dwarfing”. Animals, after migrating across land bridges during periods of low sea level, wind up marooned on islands as oceans rise and their size progressively diminishes if the supply of food declines. An adult hobbit stood one metre tall and weighed about 25 kilograms. Similarly, Flores Island was also home [...]