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This documentary film is about the analysis and impact made by a 2003 discovery of some controversial remains in an island of Flores in Indonesia. Excavating in a lime stone cave, archaeologists found skull, jaw and bones similar to an adult Homo sapien in figure, only it is a size of a 3-year-old. The remains was named LB1 and its eventual scientific name is Homo floresiensis from the name of the island, but it is most often referred to as the “hobbit”. Surrounding the remains are puzzling artifacts such as handcrafted stone tools with sharp edges and elephant bones. Unlike Ardi, the oldest known potential human ancestor which was earlier discovered but only created media frenzy late last year, this discovery is still subject to heated debates between many archaeologists and paleontologists. Some question the possibility that there was once a group of hobbit-form hominids having a chimpanzee-sized brain that lived a thousand of years through hunting.

To determine the age of LB1, experiments on sediments were carried out to determine when it was last exposed to sunlight and the result dated it less than 30,000 years. Using the radiocarbon dating for the bones, it was found out that it outlasted the Neanderthals that lived 10,000 – 95,000 years. The Neanderthals were the hominids that were thought to have first looked like Homo Sapiens, and the discovery of the hobbit implied the puzzling idea that a small brained specie that could migrate and outlive other hominids.

Some paleontologists suggest that LB1 was an outcome of something modified by a particular disease. Microcephaly is a disease where the human brain does not grow or is underdeveloped - possibly the case of LB1. However, comparing the brain of a microcephalic to LB1, it was seen to be totally different, with a microcephalic’s cerebellum pushed way back. There are also special features present in LB1’s brain not seen in the chimpanzee’s possibly giving LB1 a higher cognitive activity. According to an acclaimed stone tools expert, the ones found with LB1 were actually sophisticated requiring hand-coordination, skill in metric aspects and thinking. This again questions the credibility of a small-brained hominid to produce these tools. More fossils and DNA samples are needed to supply an answer of whether LB1 is a diseased modern human or a new species. Still, another study on LB1 focused on the teeth and jaw. It was seen that the formation of the teeth is nearly human-like and was found to have a wisdom tooth which indicated that it was already an adult. Furthermore, the form of bones is also an important clue in the human evolution. Wrist bones, specifically the shape of the travich bone, define the capability of specie to grasp objects well. However, LB1’s travich bone was triangular- shaped similar to that of primates.

Opposing arguments are thrown left and right throughout the documentary of whether this hobbit is actually a real deal. Majority of the studies would classify it as a new species in effect disrupting the set knowledge on human evolution that we know of. However, there are large gaps on fossils discovered, hence there may probably be many species similar to the case of LB1 yet to be discovered. The discovery of the hobbit left a big question mark to where we actually came from, turning beliefs into doubts on the linear progress of human evolution and forcing scientists to develop unconventional theories and explanations. Knowledge is indeed endless with new discoveries still waiting to be uncovered bringing excitement for those who search for them.