Archaeology: What's Hot Now: Top Ten of the Decade

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Top Ten of the Decade Oct 30th 2011, 10:03 In 2004, news broke about the discovery of Flores man, a previously unknown hominin species, found in a cave in Indonesia. While such discoveries are not incredibly uncommon in the ancient Rift Valley of Africa, new species outside of our mother continent are far more rare. Further, the species appears to have lived until about 18,000 years ago. Known as the "hobbit" in the popular press, the Flores man set up an enormous controversy in the academic press, and the question of whether the hobbit is a separate species or a deformed human is still not entirely resolved. Why nominate Flores? Prior to the discovery of Flores, scientists believed that the last time modern humans shared the planet was 25,000 years ago, when the last of the Neanderthals died out. If Flores really is a separate species, that means that there were two hominin species left on earth as recently as the end of the Pleistocene. Additional Reading Flores Man, compilation of materials Flores Man, summary of the research to date Hobbit feud: scientists argue over mysterious bones, 2 February 2009, USA Today New bones suggest 'hobbits' were modern pygmies, 11 March 2008, New Scientist Ancient Small People on Palau Not Dwarfs, Study Says, 27 August 2008, National Geographic News

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