Scientists May Have Figured Out Why Real-Life ‘Hobbits’ Were So Small

Homo floresiensis differed from Homo sapiens in other ways, as well. They had prominent brow ridges and barely any chin, as opposed to the larger skull, smaller brow ridges, and visible chin of our species. Their hips and shoulders were also much wider, and not unlike the hobbits of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, they also had broad, flat feet.

How did these hominins evolve to be so small in comparison to our other predecessors? Anthropologists Tesla Monson, Andrew Weitz, and Marianne Brasil from Western Washington University sought to find the answer by analyzing what brain size and teeth could reveal about their growth. The size of wisdom teeth in both the upper and lower jaw is linked to brain size and body mass in other hominids that lived during the Pleistocene and Pliocene eras. This also goes for Homo sapiens and other existing primates.