Legal Commentary

More Scientific Evidence on Prehistoric Hobbits

By Ilya Somin

Following on the heels of proof of the existence of hobbits, we now have evidence that they settled much of the world before humans did, and battled dragons just like Bilbo Baggins. Yet more scientific validation of the Lord of the Rings:

How a hobbit is rewriting the history of the human race:

The discovery of the bones of tiny primitive people on an Indonesian island six years ago stunned scientists. Now, further research suggests that the little apemen, not Homo erectus, were the first to leave Africa and colonise other parts of the world....

It remains one of the greatest human fossil discoveries of all time. The bones of a race of tiny primitive people, who used stone tools to hunt pony-sized elephants and battle huge Komodo dragons, were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004....

The end result caused consternation. These remains came from a species that turned out to be only three feet tall and had the brain the size of an orange. Yet it used quite sophisticated stone tools. And that was a real puzzle. How on earth could such individuals have made complex implements and survived for aeons on this remote part of the Malay archipelago?....

That is odd enough. However, new evidence suggests the little folk of Flores may be even stranger in origin. According to a growing number of scientists, Homo floresiensis is probably a direct descendant of some of the first apemen to evolve on the African savannah three million years ago. These primitive hominids somehow travelled half a world from their probable birthplace in the Rift Valley to make their homes among the orangutans, giant turtles and rare birds of Indonesia before eventually reaching Flores.

Maybe they ?travelled half a world? because they were on a quest to destroy the Ring of Power.

I look forward to scientific confirmation of the existence of Tolkien?s elves, dwarves, and orcs. As I have previously noted, we already have definitive proof of the existence of ferocious trolls right here at the VC.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on February 26, 2010 (boomark / email).