Archaeologist who led ‘Hobbit’ discovery dies

The Australian archaeologist who rocked the science world with his discovery of a tiny new species of human known as the “hobbit” has died after a year-long battle with cancer, his university said.

Mike Morwood, the professor who was instrumental in the discovery of Homo floresiensis in 2003, died aged 62, the University of Wollongong said.

“It was the adventure of a lifetime for Mike,” long- time colleague Bert Roberts said of the revelation on the Indonesian island of Flores which shook the scientific community and the world’s understanding of human evolution.