A human “hobbit” ancestor might be hiding somewhere in the depths of Indonesia.
The “hobbit” is technically called Homo floresiensis, and lived roughly 700,000 to 60,000 years ago on the island of Flores, now known as Indonesia, according to LiveScience. The “hobbit” stood roughly 3 feet 6 inches tall, and was a small-brained, large-footed creature that used tools, the outlet continued.
No one knows where the “hobbit” evolved from, and it may not have gone extinct, according to a new book by anthropologist Gregory Forth, LiveScience reported. “We simply don’t know when this species became extinct or indeed dare I say — I did dare say — we don’t even know if it is extinct,” Forth explained to Live Science, “So there is some possibility that it is still alive.”
Footage of an “ape-man” was taken in the jungle of Sumatra, Indonesia, in 2017, according to Express. Reports of the tiny people date back more than 100 years, the outlet noted. A video of the ape-man was taken in a remote part of the Aceh province and appears to show a small human-like creature carrying a spear as it runs through the forest.
Local stories of a smaller, hairy, human-like creature living in the forests of Indonesia are commonplace, Forth told LiveScience. The anthropologist wrote about such stories until 2003 when H.floresiensis was first discovered, the outlet continued. “I heard about these similarly small humanlike creatures in a region called Lio, which were said to still be alive, and people were giving accounts of what they looked like,” Forth continued.