‘Hobbit’ species of hominids were less than 1m tall

Ancient versions of 1m tall ‘hobbits’ discovered on an Indonesian island have been unearthed by scientists — and they appear to be even smaller than the originals.

Fossil bones of at least three Lilliputian humans dating back 700,000 years have been found on the island of Flores, 70km from the spot where the first Homo floresiensis remains were uncovered in 2003.

Not only were they much older than their descendants, thought to have become extinct 50,000 years ago, but evidence suggests they were even tinier.