I was reminded of this last night when I just saw the National Geographic special about the excavation on the island of Flores near Bali of the miniaturized early humans (Homo floresiensis) nicknamed "hobbits". They were about 3.5 feet tall and lived on a sort of "lost island" with pygmy elephants and giant Komodo dragon liards. The little people evolved from homo erectus and lived 95,000 to 13,000 years ago (?) and also co-existed with modern humans for over 20,000 years. The program even mused and wondered about the possibility that our shared stories about little people (elves, dwarves, etc.) which exists in folklore across the world, were directly the result of memory of these little humans. It is belived the hobbits arrived on the island as full-sized homo erectus 800,000 years ago but had to grow smaller in response to a food resource poor environment. They lived in social groups, made stone tools, and hunted and gathered. The little humans (and pygmy elephants and giant lizards) became extinct sometime before 11,000 years ago in a volcanic eruption that left a thick ash layer over the island.

The scientists were amazed that early humans were subject to the same ecological laws as other animals following the pattern seen on isolated islands in modern contexts - that of species miniturization. They were also surprised that a human with a brain so small (about the size of a chimpanzee) could show such complex social and technological behavior. While the hobbit had a small brain, it did show over-developed lobes (near the front of the skull) that give humans "purposeful" abilities like planning and abstract thought. The program noted that we may not have scratched the surface in knowledge about the variety of human adaptations during prehistory particularly in isolated islands where a closed gene pool in a rich unique environment can result in a variety of possible morphological, social, and technological adaptations.

I guess my point is we know so little about the laws of nature and ecosystem organization and how we as a species evolved, were molded by nature and controlled the environment. The more we learn the more humbling it is to see the richness of nature.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hobbit-like Ancestor found n Asia

thank you for your post, I was only fishing and didnt realize such information could be found. Very Interesting and humbling to think about.