Homo floresiensis: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:04, 4 October 2005

Revision as of 07:34, 11 October 2005

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Indeed, the discoverers have associated ''H. floresiensis'' with [[human behavior|advanced behavior]]s. There is evidence of the use of [[fire]] for [[cooking]]. The species has also been associated with [[stone tool]]s of the sophisticated [[Upper Paleolithic]] tradition typically associated with modern humans, who at 1310–1475 cm³ (80–90 in³) nearly quadruple the brain volume of ''H. floresiensis'' (with body mass increased by a factor of 2.6). Some of these tools were apparently used in the necessarily [[co-operation|cooperative]] [[hunting]] of local dwarf ''Stegodon'' by this small human species.

An indicator of inteligenceintelligence is the size of region 10 of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which is associated with self-awareness and is about the same size as that of modern humans, despite the much smaller overall size of the brain.

Flores remained isolated during the [[Wisconsin glaciation]] (the most recent [[ice age]]), despite the low [[sea level rise|sea level]]s that united much of the rest of [[Sundaland]], because of a deep neighboring [[strait]]. This has led the discoverers of ''H. floresiensis'' to conclude that the species or its ancestors could only have reached the isolated island by [[ship transport|water transport]], perhaps arriving in [[bamboo]] [[raft]]s around 100,000 (?) (or if as ''H. erectus'', then about 1 million) years ago. This perceived evidence of advanced technology and cooperation on a modern human level has prompted the discoverers to [[hypothesis|hypothesize]] that ''H. floresiensis'' almost certainly had [[language]]. These suggestions have proved the most controversial of the discoverers' findings, despite the probable high intelligence of ''H. floresiensis''.