Re: Scientists Find Prehistoric Dwarf Skeleton

From: Kermit (unrestrained_hand_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 10/29/04 

Date: 29 Oct 2004 13:52:17 -0700

algis@RiverApes.com (Algis Kuliukas) wrote in message news:<77a70442.0410271756.68a58a00@posting.google.com>...
> MrPepper11@go.com (MrPepper11) wrote in message news:<57cfd534.0410270938.209bfc3e@posting.google.com>...
>
> A fascinating find, indeed, Mr Pepper.
>
> A couple of initial thoughts...
>
> > October 27, 2004
> > Scientists Find Prehistoric Dwarf Skeleton
> > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> [..]
>
> > Now, researchers suggest H. erectus spread to remote Flores and
> > throughout the region, perhaps on bamboo rafts. Caves on surrounding
> > islands are the target of future studies, they said.
>
> 1) I don't understand this presumption that these hominids must have
> built rafts to get there. Look at any map of the region and you'll
> find that even today the greatest distance between two Indonesia on
> each side of the Wallace line, Bali and Lombok, is at most about 22km.
> At the Last Glacial Maximimum it must have been even less.
>
> Why is it so astonishing that they might have actually swam there,
> even by accident? The next island in the chain would certainly be
> visible from the previous one.
>

How did the other animals get there? The stegodons, the other land
animals? If they were descended from Asian homo erectuses (?) they may
have been there for a million years or more.

> 2) About the tiny brain size. Isn't this rather a blow to the bigger
> brains for greater intelligence idea? Henry Gee seems to agree. "The
> whole idea that you need a particular brain size to do anything
> intelligent is completely blown away by this find."

It only blows away the idea that brain size is the whole story. Total
body size determines brain size to a significant degree. Women have
smaller braqins than men, but they have smaller bodies, too. The
proportion of cerebral cortex to total size may have more to do with
it than size alone. Also, some animals, such as the parrots and crows,
may have a stronger selective pressure to minimize size of brain, even
while they are getting smarter for other reasons. A 70 kg hominid
doesn't care much about a few extra grams of mass, but a flying
animal would.

How big were hobbit brains proportionally?

>
> 3) If anecdotal stories about these 'Ebu Gogo' (the local name for
> these little people) in legends from Flores people can be linked to
> this species, H. foresiensis were hairy. This is certainly a new twist
> in the thinking on the evolution of nakedness in H. sapiens.
>
> Algis Kuliukas

I suspect we lost our fur in order to cool off while traveling on foot
for long distances, especially at high speeds. These little guys, in
the jungle on an island, would not be marathoners, and either never
lost their fur or could quickly grow it back (evolve it again) if it
had a slight advantage for nonrunners. I assume it does, for every
mammalian species seems to have fur unless it has a clear need to be
nekkid (e.g. whales, humans, naked mole rats).

Kermit
Also, they obviosly lost half the information for growing tall...

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Scientists Find Prehistoric Dwarf Skeleton
    ... How did the other animals get there? ... It only blows away the idea that brain size is the whole story. ... I suspect we lost our fur in order to cool off while traveling on foot ...
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  • Re: Scientists Find Prehistoric Dwarf Skeleton
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