Cast of Homo floresiensis compared to a small braincase skull. (Photo: Jan Kamenicek)
The newly discovered ‘hobbit’-sized Homo floriensis found in Indonesia may only have been regular individual with Down syndrome, a new study suggests.
A team of researchers shows in a first paper that the asymmetry of the skull and its small brain can be explained by some genetic disorder, and that it doesn’t provide enough evidence to claim the discovery of a new species. In a second paper, they show that Down syndrome could explain the small brain size of the specimen.
Original research paper published in PNAS on August 4, 2014.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
