On a small Indonesian island, around 300 miles east of Java, there’s a huge cave called Liang Bua. Translated, it literally means ‘cool cave’.
It certainly looks very cool, but more than that, it was home to a species of ‘Hobbit-like’ human relatives known as Homo floresiensis.
The small hominims grew to a little over a metre tall, weighed about 25kg and had short legs with large, flat feet.
Living on the island of Flores until around 50,000 years ago, the first evidence of H floresiensis was discovered in the cave in 2003. Fossils from at least 14 individuals were found, including the partial skeleton of a female, known as Liang Bua 1.
Now, a team of two archaeologists and a 3D designer have recreated what they think Liang Bua 1 looked like.
Using a combination of digital sculpture and anatomical deformation techniques based on the fossilised skull, the trio has presented what they think ‘Flores Man’ – or woman, given Liang Bua 1 was female – may look like.
The answer? She had a large flat nose, prominent brows and small ears set on a fairly round head.
Facial reconstruction using only a skull is notoriously subjective. While some indicators are provided as to where muscles and tissues may lie, archaeologists cannot be sure exactly how they would appear, or where fat may be stored.
And of course, skin, eye and hair colour are educated guesses based on relatives in the region. Likewise the hairiness of an individual.
The study has not been peer-reviewed, but is nevertheless a fascinating attempt to further our understanding of a small species at the centre of a big debate.
Theories over the fossils have been put forward since their discovery. At first archaeologists thought Liang Bua 1 was a human child because of the size of her skull, but a prominent brow and wisdom teeth suggested otherwise.
Others have suggested Flores Man is actually a population of Homo erectus that shrunk over hundreds of thousands of years through a phenomenon known as insular dwarfism, or island dwarfism, where limited resources and a lack of predators favour smaller individuals.
Another theory is that the bones belong to a group of Homo sapiens – humans – with a particular physical condition, such as microcephaly, causing their smaller brains and size. However, no current conditions match what is seen in H Floresiensis.
But as the debate continues over exactly who Liang Bua 1 was, at least now we may have a better picture of what she and her family looked like.
MORE : Face of a man who died 9,500 years ago, brought to life by scientists
MORE : Scientists reconstruct face of man whose skeleton was found in woods
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
