Research published on July 3rd analyzes the behavior of *Homo floresiensis*—also known as "Hobbits" due to their small stature and unique characteristics—confirming their place within the human lineage.
A new study regarding the Hobbits who lived on the Indonesian island of Flores 50,000 years ago challenges the long-held belief that they were skilled hunters capable of killing prey such as the island's native dwarf elephants. While it was known that they used fire, this new analysis of bone markings and experimental data is radically shifting that perspective; it now appears they were scavengers rather than hunters. They likely trailed Komodo dragons—creatures that would have truly seemed like dragons to them given their massive size.
It was the Komodo dragons that killed the small elephants using their venomous bites; the Hobbits would simply arrive afterward—or perhaps drive the dragons away using spears and sticks—and use stone tools to extract the remaining scraps from the elephant carcasses.
They focused primarily on the less meaty sections—parts of the bone structure that the dragons left behind. Even a Komodo dragon has refined tastes; the dragon would consume the juicy meat, leaving the leftovers for the Hobbits.
Analyses have also shown that, although burn marks were found, the evidence suggests these burns and fires were not caused by the hobbits but by *Homo sapiens* who arrived later. Experiments were conducted on goat carcasses hunted by Komodo dragons; the dragons' tooth marks were compared with the fossilized bones of these ancient elephants, and the results confirmed that the elephants had indeed been killed and partially eaten by the dragons. Since the bones found later in the hobbits' caves bore these same dragon marks, it appears the hobbits scavenged what remained.
The hobbits were very small—only one meter tall—and represented an evolutionary development specific to that island, where they lived in isolation for thousands of years. Their exact evolutionary origins remain unclear; while they may have descended from an older species—possibly even predating *Homo erectus*—it is not believed that they evolved directly from *Homo erectus*. Nevertheless, *Homo erectus* was a great adventurer; within the *Homo* genus, they were the second great explorer after us.
