Indonesia's 'hobbits' disappeared about same time modern humans arrived in Southeast Asia: report
But still unclear whether Homo floresiensis and our ancestors ever actually met
A group of extinct human relatives dubbed “hobbits”, which left tantalising traces of their existence in an Indonesian cave, disappeared much longer ago than previously thought, archaeologists said on Wednesday.
Homo floresiensis, a primitive, diminutive hominin, inhabited the Liang Bua cave on Flores island from about 190,000 to 50,000 years ago, reported the team, which spent years accurately redating sections of the archaeological site.
The pint-sized creatures were previously said to have lived in the cave until as recently as 12,000 years ago.
This would have meant they survived until long after modern humans reached Southeast Asia some 50,000 years ago, and may even have lived side-by-side with our ancestors.
The redating of the dig site, which has yielded fossils of hobbits and their stone tools, did not make it any clearer whether H. floresiensis were likely to have crossed paths with Homo sapiens.