More “Hobbit” bones found, as reported in Nature vol 437, p1012, 13 October 2005.
Scientists excavating a cave on the Island of Flores in Indonesia have found a jaw bone, two arm bones and a shin bone that belong to Homo floresiensi.
The new jaw is very similar to the first jaw in that it lacks a chin. A chin is a distinctive feature of human beings, including dwarves and people suffering from microcephaly. The scientists note that “Lack of a chin is an ancestral feature of hominids, and is also a characteristic of H. erectus and A. afarensis.
The humerus (upper arm bone) is thicker than a human arm bone, and the head of the bone, where it joins to the shoulder, is rotated at an angle of 110 degrees to the shaft – described by the scientists as “the norm for Hylobates and quadrupedal primates such as Macaca”.
The ulna (a forearm bone) is also thicker than a human ulna and has lost the end that joins with the wrist. The tibia (shin bone) is very small and is similar in shape to that of a chimpanzee. The researchers commented: “The relationship between midshaft circumference (56mm) and the length of the tibia is in the Pongo and Pan range of variation, and distinct from Homo.”
After putting these new bones together with the original find the researchers are now able to estimate the overall body proportion of H. floresiensis and compare them with humans and apes. After comparing the length of the arms and legs relative to overall body size they concluded: “Body proportions of LB1 are the same as AL288-1 A. afarensis, but differ from all other hominids for which there are reliable data, including H. erectus. Abnormal growth seems an unlikely explanation, as growth-hormone-related dwarfism and microcephaly in modern humans result in normal limb and pelvic proportions.”
They then considered the brain size in proportion to the body size and concluded: “Although the endocast of LB1 has a gross morphology most similar to H. erectus, and distinct from H. sapiens, Australopithecus and Pan, the encephalization quotient and body-weight-to-brain-weight relationships are similar to A. afarensis and Pan, not H. erectus,. They also studied the overall robustness, or thickness of the bones in proportion to their lengths and estimated the musculature and overall body mass. They concluded: “For the femur and humerus, midshaft circumference differs from predictions for H. sapiens of similar body size, with femur robusticity at the centre of the Pan paniscus range of variation, and humerus robusticity midway between the P. paniscus and H. sapiens ranges. Thus, estimations of musculature and body mass in H. floresiensis would be more accurate if based on chimpanzee rather than human models”.
Editorial Comment: Translating the jargon: Hylobates is the scientific name for Gibbon, a tree swinging ape; Macaca is the name for Macaques, a type of monkey; Pongo is orangutan, another tree swinging ape; and Pan is chimpanzee. Australopithecus afarensis means “southern ape from Afar” and is the scientific name for “Lucy”. LB1 is the original Homo floriesiensis fossil. LB is “Liang Bua” the name of the cave where it was found.
If we put the information from these new studies together with the previous studies of Homo floresiensis we can summarise them as follows: This creature has the brain size of a chimpanzee, a jaw like a “southern ape”, arms like a gibbon or a monkey, legs like a chimpanzee or orangutan, body proportions of a “southern ape,” body mass like a chimpanzee and a brain-to-body proportions of the chimpanzee or “southern ape”.
Is there any alternative to the conclusion that the creature was an ape?
Therefore, it is inexcusable that it continues to be classified as “Homo” by evolutionists and creationists.
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