| Pictured with the ‘hobbit’ replica skull and the cover st... Pictured with the ‘hobbit’ replica skull and the cover story in Australasian Science are (from left) Professor Mike Morwood, Dr Tony Djubiantono and Professor Lee Astheimer |
Presentation of exact replica of ‘hobbit’ skull
25 Mar 2008 | Bernie Goldie
An exact scale replica of the skull of the human species, Homo floresiensis, (nicknamed the 'hobbit') was officially handed over to the University of Wollongong today (25 March).
The presentation was made by Dr Tony Djubiantono who is Director of the Indonesian Centre for Archaeology (ARKENAS) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Dr Djubiantono holds the original skull in safekeeping in Indonesia.
Following the presentation of the replica skull, Dr Djubiantono signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Lee Astheimer.
The Memorandum allows for the continued collaboration of researchers and the exchange of research students between UOW and ARKENAS.
The resin replica, modelled from a CT scan of the original skull, will be eventually be put on show in a special display of other ‘hobbit’ artefacts in UOW’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
The only other replica skull similar to the one handed over to UOW today is housed at the University of New England where the Australian team leader in the ‘hobbit’ discovery (Professor Mike Morwood) originally hailed from. Professor Morwood has since joined UOW.
The announcement of the discovery of Homo floresiensis off the Indonesian island of Flores triggered a worldwide sensation in scientific and media circles. The discovery was hailed as one of the most important early hominin discoveries of the last 100 years.
The brain size of the Hobbit is around 0.4 litres (comparable in size to a chimpanzee). Modern humans have brain sizes of around 1.2 litres.
The story of the ‘hobbit’ continues to make the news. It is the latest cover story of the prestigious Australian monthly science magazine, Australasian Science.
The Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University, Professor Colin Groves, contributed an article to the magazine highlighting how the ancestors of the miniature hominins may have spread out of Africa even before the ancestors of modern humans.
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