H. floresiensis is at 1:48!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Controversy Around a Name
Who's the real 'Hobbit' here?
Homo Floresiensis... Hobbit...Little People..
What should we call these hominids?!
What should we call these hominids?!
No one likes calling species by their scientific name. So, it wasn't surprising when this 3 foot tall species was nicknamed 'Hobbit' (Flood 1).
However by calling these hominids 'Hobbits', many people who are unfamiliar with Homo floresiensis may believe that anthropologists are referring to J.R.R. Tolkien's hobbits.
OR (this is going out on a limb here) they may even believed that the fossils of Homo floresiensis were once real life characters of The Lord of the Rings...
... it doesn't help that the release of the film The Hobbit is coming this December.
The usage of this nickname in academia has recently gotten into trouble with 'Saul Zaentz Company/Middle-earth Enterprises' who own the rights of the 'Hobbit' trademark (Flood 1). When Dr. Brent Alloway, associate professor at Victoria University in New Zealand, tried to name his lecture on Homo floresiensis 'The Other Hobbit,' he was met with threats of copyright infringement (Flood 1).
Now the lecture is called: "A Newly Discovered Species of Little People – Unravelling the Legend behind Homo floresiensis"
Little People? Might as well call them Liliputians! (But that might be copyright infringement as well)
Even though the term 'hobbit' is found in Oxford English Dictionary and is "frequently referred to in the scientific literature" on Homo floresiensis, Dr. Alloway still had difficulty using the term 'Hobbit' for his publicized event (Flood 1).
So what should we call this hominid? Is the term 'hobbit' too
relative to J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic creatures? And is the film
company abusing their power over the trademark 'Hobbit'?
relative to J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic creatures? And is the film
company abusing their power over the trademark 'Hobbit'?
Flood, Alison. "Hobbit banned as title of lecture on prehistoric 'hobbit.'" The Guardian. Guardian
News and Media Limited, 2012.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Look at the Difference!
A model of a male H. Floresiensis skull shows the scale of this hominid's body compared to our own.
Photo Credit: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200410/r34320_85390.jpg
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
H. Floresiensis: Still Alive??
Ebu Gogo
According to anthropologist Gregory Forth, locals on the island of Flores still talk about small, fantastic creatures that inhabit or once inhabited the Lia Ula cave of the Nage territory on the island.
These small creatures are called Ebu Gogo by the locals and continue to be talked about when referring to past history or when telling folklore stories.
By comparing the locals' descriptions of the Ebu Gogo with the descriptions of the H. floresiensis fossils, Forth realized that the comparisons were too similar to be a coincidence.
After 20 years of ethnographic research on the people of the Nage territory, Forth was told by numerous locals that the Ebu Gogo were alive up until 200 years ago when the 'Ua villagers exterminated them.However, some believe that these creatures are still alive!
Check out the article and read for yourself!
What do you think? Is it possible that these hobbits still inhabit the Earth?
Photo Credit: http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=d6045af5-74f3-41f8-99d8-62bd76481861&sponsor=
Forth, Gregory. "Palaeoanthropology and Local Legends: Homo Floresiensis in the News." Anthropology Today 21.1 2005): 22.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Corny Joke of the Day
Looks like this Hobbit hole was made for me!
Who would live in a Hobbit hole?
(Answer below)
Not much is known about how H. floresiensis lived or what kind of structures they lived in. Some locals living on the island of Flores believe that they lived in caves. Sadly, there is still no proof that they lived in these awesome Hobbit holes yet!
Have the answer yet?
keep guessing...
Answer: Elijah Wood!
Photo Credit: Krista Steuben's picture 'Sasha at The Shire' taken at the New Zealand film set of The Hobbit (2012)
Welcome to 'Behind the Hobbit'!
So what's the story behind the Hobbit?
To most people, hobbits are nothing more than a bunch of short, majestical, human-like creatures in The Lord of the Rings. But I assure you, there's more to them than that!
Believe it or not, these human-like creatures do not only exist in the magical realm of LOTR. Less than a decade ago, Hobbit fossils have been found on the island of Flores in Indonesia, hence the scientific name Homo floresiensis.
Not much is known about these real world Hobbits, and we still do not know much about them. However, I am still holding out hope in finding out that they were once put on this land to destroy a very evil and omnipotent ring. I will inform you all if this ever happens.
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