Flores Hobbits were stunted humans

A group of Oz researchers has thrown its hat into the Flores "Hobbit" ring by claiming the diminutive inhabitants of the Indonesian island were not a new species at all but rather "cretin offspring of normal mothers". The first Hobbit skeleton, dating back 15,000 to 18,000 years, turned up in a cave back in 2003. Its discovery …

[eddiewrenn]

Prehistoric cretins

"and they had cretin children."

I think we've got a settlement of cretins here in Scunthorpe. Is it something to do with the three McDonalds, two Burger Kings and two KFCs in this ugly town? I think we should be told.

[Graham Dawson]

Oi, leave our politicians out of it!

"The dwarf cretins in Europe have just the same structural rotation of the arm bone."

That's no way to talk about Robin Cook!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmmm

You sure they weren't looking at the skeletal remains of the crims we shipped over to Oz?

[Anonymous Coward]

Me

Me a cretin and me tall so they wrong.

[Luther Blissett]

Wonderful Wizards of Oz

Mr Coward deconstructs their logic forensically, succinctly, and humorously (as in funny, but not as in bone). Maybe the Wizards should practise their act on dinosaurs first?

[Brian Miller]

Need more samples

Too bad we only have the one skeleton. Maybe with a bit more research more will be found, and then the evidence can be properly analyzed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dubious

Given the number of religious nuts who have been trying to disprove that they were a different species (because it disproves the bible or something), how can we tell these guys aren't from the same? They don't exactly use the strongest evidence.

[Anonymous John]

Still not convinced, either way

I wonder if we'll ever know.

Coat please. No, not that one. I'm only three foot tall.

[Colin Sharples]

Pedantic flame of the week

Binomial names always have a capital letter for the first part (genus) and lower case for the second part (species), i.e. Homo floresiensis, not Homo Floresiensis. At least you put it in italics, which, thanks to your completely useless markup-free comment editor, I am unable to do. Oh no, now I'll have to flame myself... AIEEEEE!

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess...

...that second breakfast and elevensies aren't as appetizing when all you've got are bamboo and tubers.

[J]

Hm...

Too bad the politics there in Indonesia is precluding research... Although I've heard they had more skeletons in the works...

Anyway, you got quite close, Lester! Kudos for italicizing the name Homo floresiensis. Minus points for capitalizing floresiensis.

PH because she likes the little ones. AND the story has to do with cretins.

[Col]

Show me the bones!

So where are the skeletons of the parents? Surely the fact that the only bones found were those of the alleged 'cretins' would point to the fact that there were onlt 'cretins' there?

[Anonymous Coward]

yamboo!'n'youtubers

Bamboo and tubers ?! They had it easy, when I were an Indonesian dwarf cretin all I had to eat were tic-tacs and a fisherman's friend. I remember when all this were very very tall grass you know.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cretigans Island?

Ship wrecked Cretins perhaps.

I bet one of them was fat, one was thin, one was rich, etc...

[Niall]

@David Wiernicki

What's potatoes, precious?

Poe-Tay-Toes? Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew...

I think they'd have been ok with the tubers alright...