More Hobbitry

There's a lot of stuff out there on the Flores "hobbits," a dwarf species of humans that is posing interesting questions for evolutionary biologists. From the NYT:

In a study of the shape and contours of its tiny braincase, the 18,000-year-old adult female, who was barely three feet tall, was found to have anatomical attributes suggesting a capacity for higher thinking processes, a significant memory bank and ability to plan. Not bad for a species with a brain one-third the size of a contemporary human's.

Read it here.
Here's the original press release by the FSU anthropologist who did the examination.
The most complete popular treatment, with neat illustrations and a promo for an upcoming TV special, is in National Geographic Online. Check it out here.