Compare the Brains

back | 6 of 7 | next

LB1 and Homo erectus
At a glance, LB1's brain looks much like that of a shrunken H. erectus, the extinct hominin best known by the Java Man specimens. Indeed, the two brains are similar in height and width, and both have a recognizably low, long lateral profile. To some experts, such a similar shape strongly suggests an evolutionary connection. But Falk's team does not believe the hobbit was a miniaturized descendant of H. erectus. Its cranial capacity was simply too small to be attributed to normal dwarfing of H. erectus, they say.

Alien From Earth homepage | NOVA homepage