From the Shire to the Smithsonian: Placing hobbits on the human family tree

Skull of a Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis. Photo by Ryan Somma.

J.R.R. Tolkien may have talked up their hairy feet, but it’s hobbits’ wrists that interest anthropologists. In this article, I look at how an international team of researchers used Arizona State University’s cutting-edge imaging technology to crack the mystery of Homo floresiensis, a three-foot-tall, 18,000-year-old skeleton nicknamed the “hobbit.”

ASU PRISM shines new light on “hobbit”

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