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Article: New finds of human ancestor jumble evolutionary puzzle; Three feet tall and built like a long-extinct primate, Homo floresiensis nevertheless mastered toolmaking.(USA)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 13, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
In their study of the evolutionary ladder, scientists have found that modern humans rubbed elbows with some colorful cousins. But few have been as puzzling as a purported cousin unearthed on the Indonesian island of Flores.
The partial skeleton, first reported last October, was stunning. Estimated to stand just over three feet tall, it offered the tantalizing possibility that a new species of mini-human lived 18,000 years ago. But some researchers dismissed the find as a pygmy or the result of a physical defect.
Now the research team that gave the world the hobbit-like Homo ...