Letter

Nature 437, 1012-1017 (13 October 2005) | doi: 10.1038/nature04022

Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia

M. J. Morwood1,4, P. Brown1,4, Jatmiko2, T. Sutikna2, E. Wahyu Saptomo2, K. E. Westaway3, Rokus Awe Due2, R. G. Roberts3, T. Maeda1, S. Wasisto2 and T. Djubiantono2

Homo floresiensis was recovered from Late Pleistocene deposits on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, but has the stature, limb proportions and endocranial volume of African Pliocene Australopithecus1. The holotype of the species (LB1), excavated in 2003 from Liang Bua, consisted of a partial skeleton minus the arms. Here we describe additional H. floresiensis remains excavated from the cave in 2004. These include arm bones belonging to the holotype skeleton, a second adult mandible, and postcranial material from other individuals. We can now reconstruct the body proportions of H. floresiensis with some certainty. The finds further demonstrate that LB1 is not just an aberrant or pathological individual, but is representative of a long-term population that was present during the interval 95–74 to 12 thousand years ago. The excavation also yielded more evidence for the depositional history of the cave and for the behavioural capabilities of H. floresiensis, including the butchery of Stegodon and use of fire.

  1. Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, School of Human and Environmental Studies, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
  2. Indonesian Centre for Archaeology, Jl. Raya Condet Pejaten No. 4, Jakarta 12001, Indonesia
  3. GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
  4. *These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence to: M. J. Morwood1,4P. Brown1,4 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.J.M. (Email: mmorwood@pobox.une.edu.au) and P.B. (Email: pbrown3@pobox.une.edu.au).

Received 13 January 2005; Accepted 12 July 2005

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