Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
William Jungers has been on the forefront of the research and debate surrounding Homo floresiensis, known as the ""hobbit"" in the popular press. These unexpected and controversial fossils have served to challenge our understanding of the human career. Evolving in isolation, they present a unique anatomical package of primitive and derived features that suggests either surprisingly ancient ancestry or evolutionary reversals. Their body design is never observed in modern humans, including the smallest people on Earth. Tools and fire were made with primitive hands and a chimpanzee-sized brain. Just over a meter tall and robustly built, they walked bipedally on short hind-limbs that sported long feet. In this lecture, Jungers addresses why attempts to dismiss the hobbits as Asian pygmies are misguided, but perhaps expected.
“Hobbits in the Haystack: Homo floresiensis and Human Evolution"" was presented at The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard on 3/6/2008 as part of The Leakey Foundation’s Speaker Series on Human Origins in partnership with The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard.
Sponsored by:
Wells Fargo Bank
Members of The Leakey Foundation
For more information and to learn about upcoming events visit:
leakeyfoundation.org/events
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William Jungers has been on the forefront of the research and debate surrounding Homo floresiensis, known as the ""hobbit"" in the popular press. These unexpected and controversial fossils have served to challenge our understanding of the human career. Evolving in isolation, they present a unique anatomical package of primitive and derived features that suggests either surprisingly ancient ancestry or evolutionary reversals. Their body design is never observed in modern humans, including the smallest people on Earth. Tools and fire were made with primitive hands and a chimpanzee-sized brain. Just over a meter tall and robustly built, they walked bipedally on short hind-limbs that sported long feet. In this lecture, Jungers addresses why attempts to dismiss the hobbits as Asian pygmies are misguided, but perhaps expected.
“Hobbits in the Haystack: Homo floresiensis and Human Evolution"" was presented at The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard on 3/6/2008 as part of The Leakey Foundation’s Speaker Series on Human Origins in partnership with The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard.
Sponsored by:
Wells Fargo Bank
Members of The Leakey Foundation
For more information and to learn about upcoming events visit:
leakeyfoundation.org/events
Subscribe to our channel for notifications when we post a new video!
Follow The Leakey Foundation!
Facebook: facebook.com/theleakeyfoundation
Twitter: twitter.com/theleakeyfndtn
Instagram: instagram.com/theleakeyfoundation
