Remains of miniature humans found

REMAINS of at least nine ‘hobbits’ have been discovered, making it almost certain that the three-foot-tall creatures really are a new species of human.

A year ago the world of science was stunned by the announcement that a hitherto unknown type of miniature human had been found on the Indonesian island of Flores.

Scientists writing in the latest issue of the journal Nature have now described the discovery of more ‘hobbit’ fossils in a cave on a Flores island called Liang Bua.

They include a new jaw bone and the right arm of the original specimen, as well as a number of other limb and finger bones.

One bone, from the forearm of a child, is estimated to be just 12,000 years old.