Doubt cast over discovery of ‘hobbit’ remains

FURTHER doubt has been cast on claims that skeletal remains found on an Indonesian island were those of “hobbits”, a new species of mini-human.

The creatures discovered in a cave on the island of Flores were probably ancestors of modern pygmies, said a team of international scientists.

One specimen with an unusually small head may have suffered from microcephaly, a developmental disease characterised by a shrunken skull and brain.