Homo Floresiensis: The Real Life 'Hobbit' | Prehistoric Humans Documentary

It's strange to think about the variation in species within our very own genus, Homo. Sure, neanderthals, denisovans and Homo erectus are all very different to us, but we often think of ourselves as being very similar. It is very human to think of ourselves above the laws of nature, above the natural processes of evolution, but today, we're going to be discussing an species that will perfectly broadcast evolution's impact on our genus. On one island, in one country, surrounded by ocean, a species related to us was endemic. Isolated on the island of Flores, in what is now part of the South East Asian nation of Indonesia, lived a species of human rather drastically different to most of the others.
This was Homo floresiensis, the 'man of Flores', or 'Flores man'. Isolated on the island, away from other genuses of human, evolution was free to run wild on this species, and, as a result, this was the smallest of all human species - standing at just marginally over one metre in height, Homo floresiensis has been lovingly dubbed 'the real life hobbit', after the J.R.R. Tolkein book of the same name. This small species of human was quite unlike anything else in the human fossil record - with perhaps the exception of Homo luzonensis, whose evolution tells a similar story on the island of Luzon in the Philippines - and today we will be dissecting what we know about Homo floresiensis. We will travel back in time to the Indonesian island of Flores to discover what this strange being looked like, how it lived, how it evolved, and, ultimately, how it became extinct. It is a case quite unlike any other, as we witness firsthand the processes of evolution in action, and how it affected some of our early cousins. Join us, as we take a journey through the life of Homo floresiensis; or, the 'real life hobbit'.
0:00 Introduction
2:53 What exactly was Homo floresiensis?
8:22 Medical controversy
11:48 Evolution
16:42 Lifestyle and Society
20:20 Paleoenvironment
28:27 Extinction
31:18 Homo floresiensis in folklore
36:54 Outro
Music by CO.AG: / @co.agmusic
Thank you for watching.
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[@georgehanson2978]

What? No loud spastic drums, quick cuts, and flashing lights? How do you expect to hold our attention? Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏

[@bayugbr]

Really great video. I went to Liang Bua last year. Inside the cave, scientists still need to dug up 26 meter deep when they found the remainings of the hobbit.

[@mariomarino3020]

I talked to a woman from Bosnia and she told me that they have a legend of Drekavac (Screamer) that lives there in inaccessible dense forests, of which there are really a lot in Bosnia. According to her description it perfectly matches Homo Floresiensis. She even told me that her brother met one in the forest and that the encounter was shocking for both. It's hard to believe that this is true because it's Europe. On the other hand, their legend is older than the knowledge of the existence of Indonesian Homo Floresiensis so it couldn't have been made up by watching documentaries. I also read somewhere that US Army organized a secret expedition in the Vietnamese rainforest because they also encountered something similar. is it possible that it is a species that is not endemic and characteristic only for the Indonesian island?

[@jayarfa8453]

In India and Nepal, Homo Floresiensis are called "Ban Jhakri" meaning Jungle man/quack. According to folk stories, they kidnap little kids, and return them back to their parents after they turn adult.

[@shanehester5317]

well i guess i could believe that before bigfoot.

[@3lkPeople3uiltTh3Pyramids]

White people are Albinos I was right the whole time

[@drbigmdftnu]

Your description of the legend of ebu-gogo is spot on (from what I've read)

[@samdimiroff1300]

Why weren't we taught this more in school. I had no idea about any other types of humans.

[@TaeChucky]

Yup in history we have about 14 different types. Which is incredible. Just when you thought you were the only species here . The more time progresses the more of the truth is uncovered.

[@PallasInAManulettePalace]

It's always a drop of fresh water in the desert sand when you all come out with a new video! 😊

[@rafaella9700]

I want a Series about the time a lot os human species shared the earth

[@drbigmdftnu]

Excellent content and visuals

[@user-ji8yx9lr9s]

Thanks, Educative as could be.

[@Henrikbuitenhuis]

Thanks so much for the video and info.

[@lukec8794]

Listen at x1.25 speed.

[@jenniferholich9592]

Yep!

[@loghawgtv]

Wow this video was awesome

[@moonpleco5083]

Nice, very informative video. I like narration style in it - not so fast, it's easy to gain knowledge. I have learned much about Homo Floresiensis - species that intrigued me for some time. Yes, in my opinion it's separate species, our cousin. There's no signs of illness! They probably extinct because not endure competition with Homo Sapiens which always was aggressive species even toward Neanderthal. Mythological creatures stealing food might be rather wild primates, their description don't match Homo Florenensis - they were quick, Floresiensis anatomy destined our cousins for slower movement.

[@annmiller8249]

Oh i just love this history 😊❤❤

[@taylorpresley4604]

The narration is great, I love the voice!

[@nigelcooper1018]

He sounds very like the guy from North 02 - you might like his content too, it's a similar theme

[@jayarfa8453]

In India and Nepal, they are called "Ban Jhakri".

[@renemadera6460]

Homo Luzonensis is hobbit too! They thrive in cagayan valley luzon island, philippines 67 to 70,000 yrs ago

[@agathoklesmartinios8414]

Enjoyed the video, but noticed the use of "descendants" when referring to the **ancestors** of Homo floresiensis.

[@timothypachonka8642]

Other islands in Indonesia describe the orang pendak (spelling?), a smaller than human biped described by the local witnesses .

[@Sayakesal]

Orang pendek, its mean small people/short people

[@mrcdad]

The narration is horrific. I'm going to assume it's computer generated

[@drbigmdftnu]

It's slllooooooowwwwwweeee

[@dburton2765]

Steven Hawking gives you a wink and rolls over in his grave. lol

[@bigDbigDbigD]

If they were alive today we would say they are the same species as us.

[@timkbirchico8542]

no.

[@starseyes2696]

They live in Isreal today and own banks

[@BobSmith-ke4jg]

No you wouldn't, have you seen the skull? They looked very different.

[@Realhater1352]

They had much smaller brains and skulls lol don’t be a low iq racist they were completely different

[@4TheFellas]

I agree

[@3lkPeople3uiltTh3Pyramids]

u Albinos miss me long time no see

[@levanabrzeni]

Why would those guys, who became shortened due to the environmental limitations, are called as seperate species from Homo sapiens? People could have looked different in different areas of the world. Are races and tribes sub-species of Homo sapiens too?

[@trevorh3095]

They answered that in the first few minutes of the video.

[@lifesajoke6965]

The same reason chimps and bonobos are a separate species even though both share almost 99% of the human genome through common descent.

[@JM-The_Curious]

They're not just short H. sapiens. They have other differences in their skeletons that suggests their line split from ours 2 million years ago or so. For comparison our common ancestor with Neanderthals was probably less than half a million years ago. Hobbits are much more distant cousins, not just a short tribe of people.

[@Sadqajaria786]

How much time human will take to evolve into another Species?

[@jayarfa8453]

Like 250k years

[@johnwells1015]

It’s entirely possible the folklore of the supposed little people of Hawaii the Menehune could have its roots in homofloriesiense.

[@Sayakesal]

Yea and they both are austronesian

[@johnshields6852]

We brought our 1 month old son to Dr for checkup, the Dr put his thumbs in my son's palms and rubbed, them pulled his arms straight up quickly, to my shock my son was hanging like a monkey, then the Dr swings him back and forth, he hung on with ease, I was stunned, to me it says a lot about our origins.

[@lebenstraum666]

The claims about the toes are wrong. The toes (other than the big toe) were long. Adapted for climbing.

[@intothisworld]

Well done video for novice, full of fluff if your more into

[@j.s.c.4355]

Ancestors, not descendants

[@PallasInAManulettePalace]

The Pygmies today are a small people.

[@titolino73]

These are nightmares for those ignorants of creationists !

[@yzettasmith4194]

I was interested in the subject, but I couldn't stand the narration. Thumb down.

[@andrewm6786]

Obnoxious picks for the stock video footage

[@willowgreinke7964]

Insular Dwarfism.

[@loghawgtv]

Why do they use the two words interchangeably? Insular dwarfism and island dwarfism ? does insular mean isolated?

[@lauraelizabeth4226]

Can you stop calling them "it" 🤨

[@andrewenoch2561]

Did we breed with them to I'm lost sound's like we had sex with everything and anything with two legs and a heart beat so how can we stay the same or this is why we all look so different but the same

[@glennjohnson6295]

Ebu gogo is not homo florensiensis

[@federicoclavijo8798]

Tal vez 1% aborigen de isla Papúa..

[@mightymako0121]

Please for the the love of god start using the word niche. Would feel alot more appropriate for a video like this.

[@GolamReazuddinUddin]

এই ভিডিও চিত্র ধারণ করা হয়েছে কতো সালে তখন কি বেবস্থা ছিল। আমি বিশ্বাস করি পিথিবিতে বহু জাতির বসবাস করেছেন করতেছে করবে।তাই বলে বিবর্তন তত্ত্ব মানতে হবে?রবের একমাত্র প্রশংসা পাওয়ার অফ গড।

[@taylorpresley4604]

They remind me of the aboriginal people from Australia.

[@wawaweewa9159]

Theyre not human

[@briemills9209]

Why does this narrator speak so s-l-o-w??

[@mathieuguay9907]

I find it relaxing and not annoying at all, great content to watch before bed. Speaking slower also allow people such as me whom english is not our primary tongue, in fact my 3rd, to understand better.

[@briemills9209]

@@mathieuguay9907 Well, I suppose you have a point. But I just can't listen to it without yawning.

[@briemills9209]

@The Richest Man In Babylon Yes, I found that. Much better.

[@Soloohara]

@@mathieuguay9907 i also watch it before bed, as asmr, beautiful

[@MrMirville]

I think it is computer generated voice. All vowels are too similar to the official received general American standard.

[@joannwillits5129]

People will believe anything that is on you tube! Where is your proof?

[@lifesajoke6965]

Um, Id say the fossils and tool remnants they left behind is pretty solid proof of their existence.

[@forgame8629]

The homo floresiensis has been discovered in 2003, there are skeletron

[@MythMReality]

It’s called google

[@paranormalparatrooper.7413]

Scientists, LoL. What a joke. 🇦🇺