Fossils Suggest Even Smaller ‘Hobbits’ Roamed Indonesian Island 700,000 Years Ago

An arm bone fragment excavated on the Indonesia island of Flores. Yousuke Kaifu via AP

WASHINGTON—Twenty years ago on an Indonesian island, scientists discovered fossils of an early human species that stood at about 3.5 feet (1.07 meters) tall—earning them the nickname “hobbits.”

Now a new study suggests ancestors of the hobbits were even slightly shorter.