A New Human: The Startling Discovery and Strange Story of the "Hobbits" of Flores, Indonesia, Updated Paperback Edition / Edition 1

by Mike Morwood, Penny van Oosterzee

Overview

In the most revolutionary archaeological find of the new century, an international team of archaeologists led by Mike Morwood discovered a new, diminutive species of human on the remote Indonesian island of Flores. Nicknamed the “Hobbit,” this was no creation of Tolkien's fantasy. The three foot tall skeleton with a brain the size of a chimpanzee’s was a tool-using, fire-making, cooperatively hunting person who inhabited Flores alongside modern humans as recently as 13,000 years ago. This book is Morwood’s description of this monumental discovery and the intense study that has been undertaken to validate his view of its relationship to our species. He chronicles the bitter debates over Homo Floresiensis, the objections (some spiteful) of colleagues, the theft and damage of some of the specimens, and the endless battle against government and academic bureaucracies that hindered his research. This updated paperback edition contains an epilogue that reports on the most recent debates, findings, and analyses of this amazing discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781598744149
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/31/2009
Edition description:	Updated
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dr. Mike Morwood is a professor at the Geoquest Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Australia, and formerly taught at University of New England in Armidale. In addition to his work in Indonesia, he is an expert in Australian Aboriginal rock art and the author of Visions from the Past: The Archaeology of Australian Aboriginal Art. Penny Van Oosterzee has twice won Australia’s prestigious Eureka Science Book Prize.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE 1 In the Footsteps of the Father 2 Stories from Cold Cave 3 Planning the Project 4 A Body of Evidence 5 The Devil of Dogma 6 Out of Asia 7 Islands in the Evolutionary Stream 8 The Reaction 9 Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, EPILOGUE

Editorial Reviews

"When I first learned of this discovery, I thought it the most astonishing in any field on science within the last decade" -Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, in Science magazine

"One of the very most astonishing discoveries that I've seen in my life." -Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers and The Eternal Frontier

"This well-written, entertaining book is both scholarly and accessible to the general public." -American Scientist

"Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries." -Library Journal

From the Publisher