Hobbitses?

[ashnistrike]

So now it turns out that there's a community of pygmy humans living on Flores very close to the site where the hobbit skeleton was found. Is this evidence against homo floresiensis being a different species? This article says that they exist--but it doesn't give any indication that they have the same cranial oddities as the archeological specimins (i.e. the small but fully-formed brain). They're a bit taller, by about 50 cm on average, but humans have gotten taller over the last few centuries too.

Although it's not in the article, I have a hypothesis that I like. I've seen some suggestions in recent years that modern homo sapiens actually have some neanderthal DNA--that we interbred with them when we went north rather than just killing them. So maybe these relatively tall pygmies are the modern offspring of h. sapiens and h. floresiensis ancestors? Someone needs to take DNA samples in Rampasasa.

Comments

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

That's really neat. Thank you!

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like I've got enough info on the Flores situation to have an opinion.

But you might like my sister's neanderthal hypothesis. She studied anthropology, and apparently every individual physical characteristic of neanderthals can occasionally be found in modern humans, and some of the characteristics have a gradient going northwards in Europe. So her idea is that not only is there neanderthal DNA in modern humans, but that neanderthals are actually the source of the blue-eyed and blonde characteristics.

The problem isn't so much getting DNA from moderns (although this is good) but getting enough, representative DNA from the fossils. Because if the DNA is closer to modern human than expected, the quality means that it's likely to be dismissed as contamination. It's quite the delicious problem.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

I'm allowing myself to have opinions, as long as I bear in mind my own findings about wishful thinking. :)

I like your sister's thoughts on neanderthals. What I was thinking with the modern DNA was that you might find some interesting differences with other modern DNA (which you might anyway with a population that isolated). I don't know enough about genetic anthropology to say what kind of differences; I figure if they can tell that people are descended from Ghengis Khan, there must be something that would stand out about having bred with another species a few thousand years ago.

Disclaimer: Some people use their LJs for flaming and drama that they would be embarrassed to express in real life. I use mine for unsubstantiated speculation in topics outside my expertise.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: Some people use their LJs for flaming and drama that they would be embarrassed to express in real life. I use mine for unsubstantiated speculation in topics outside my expertise.

I hope that wasn't intended to scare me off. I lurrrrve doing that kind of thing, provided it's the right kind of environment: we all agree it's just fun speculation, and no-one is going to go fact-nazi, just politely point out contradictory data if it exists.

I haven't heard the Ghengis Khan story, but I'm guessing there's a characteristic Y chromosome pattern involved, and it's probably "Ghengis Khan's hordes" that one is descended from. I haven't been tested, but I suspect I might be - it's well known that many Poles have mongol horde blood, and there's a Polack in my ancestry in the vicinity of a surprisingly eastern/Asian eye shape, which I didn't get, but my father has, and my sister got (and it's really weird once you notice it, because she's blonde-with-a-hint-of-red, green eyes, classic pink skin that freckles, etc. Yes, she secretly habours a desire to have Neanderthal DNA, what can I say? :-) )

Back to the Flores analysis:

Depending on what the differences are, I would expect something, but to some extent, we don't know enough about what other humanoid genes looked like to recognise them when they're mixed in with ours, and have been through selection and drift and all that stuff. I don't think it's impossible, but it's not necessarily going to work.

However, I will gladly second your application for grant funding to study this and I'm even willing to be part of the research team if you think you could use me :-).