{"id":4909,"date":"2026-07-03T18:07:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4909"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:07:49","slug":"hobbit-like-humans-may-have-scavenged-komodo-dragons-leftovers-to-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4909","title":{"rendered":"Hobbit-like humans may have scavenged Komodo dragons\u2019 leftovers to survive"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n            Prehistoric human relatives, nicknamed \u201chobbits\u201d due to their short stature, may have been scavengers, rather than skilled hunters capable of taking down big game or building cooking fires, according to new research.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4895\">Mamdani marks July 4 with a pro-immigration speech, ripping Trump\u2019s policies without using his name<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            The study adds to growing evidence that Homo floresiensis, which had a brain only slightly bigger than that of a chimpanzee, wasn\u2019t as advanced as scientists previously believed.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Fossils unearthed by archaeologists in the Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 led to the discovery of the diminutive hominin. The creature had a skull the size of a grapefruit and likely stood about 3.3 feet (1 meter) tall.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Excavators uncovered stone artifacts and bones of Stegodon florensis insularis, a bison-size extinct relative of elephants, near the Homo floresiensis fossils. The find suggested the hobbits had hunted with tools to take down the large animals. Burned bones of smaller animals also hinted that the hobbits could wield fire.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Such advanced behavior is considered a key evolutionary trait associated with large-brained hominins such as Neanderthals, Homo sapiens or modern humans, and Homo erectus, an early human that lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago. The potential connection between hunting tools and fire use in Homo floresiensis has even led some researchers to believe that the hobbits were closely related to Homo erectus.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<header>\n<span>\n      Related article\n    <\/span>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Stone tools from Calio, Sulawesi\" class=\"wp-image-4903\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/52f836cc49c3201437d3fb84843f180a.jpg\" width=\"256\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>Stone tools from Calio, Sulawesi<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>M W Moore<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n<span>Stone tool discovery could offer new clue in mystery of ancient \u2018hobbit\u2019 humans<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div>7  min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Dr. Elizabeth Grace Veatch, a paleoanthropologist who studies the evolution of the human diet and how early humans interacted with animals, wanted to take a closer look at how Homo floresiensis survived on an isolated island between about 190,000 and 50,000 years ago.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Veatch and her colleagues carried out a multifaceted analysis of Stegodon bones found on Flores, studying what happened to the bones after the Stegodons died.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI wanted to see if we really could show that H. floresiensis was the hunter that it had been portrayed as for decades,\u201d said Veatch, lead author of the study published Friday in the journal Science Advances and research associate in the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian Institution\u2019s National Museum of Natural History.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A block of cave sediment includes a Stegodon rib surrounded by stone artifacts and rat bones.\" class=\"wp-image-4904\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f715cd278094e71adb56cd5f3317ee95.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f715cd278094e71adb56cd5f3317ee95.jpg 768w, https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f715cd278094e71adb56cd5f3317ee95-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>A block of cave sediment includes a Stegodon rib surrounded by stone artifacts and rat bones.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Liang Bua Team<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            But the study, which included a feeding experiment involving a Komodo dragon, suggests that the hobbits only used their tools to scavenge the raw Stegodon leftovers of the island\u2019s sole carnivorous animal \u2014 and Homo floresiensis didn\u2019t use fire to cook the meat.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The finding, combined with previous research, shifts how experts are thinking about Homo floresiensis\u2019 spot on the family tree of human evolution.\n    <\/p>\n<h2>\n        Inside a Komodo dragon\u2019s mouth\n<\/h2>\n<p>\n            Thousands of tools have been found alongside Homo floresiensis fossils, suggesting the early hominins were crafting what they needed to process Stegodon meat from the bone out of local rocks called chert, said study coauthor Briana Pobiner, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            But the researchers wanted to see whether the markings on the Stegodon bones showed evidence that the hobbits were also hunting the only large-bodied herbivore on the island at the time. Stegodon weighed about 1,260 pounds (570 kilograms) and stood roughly 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall at the shoulder.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The hunt for answers took the researchers to an unexpected place: Georgia\u2019s Zoo Atlanta, where they watched a Komodo dragon named Rinca use its powerful bite to feed on a goat carcass and better understand how the giant lizards leave behind teeth marks on animal bones.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A Komodo dragon latches on to a goat carcass at Zoo Atlanta.\" class=\"wp-image-4905\" height=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11523ed17e20d1046336ba3e057a4fe0.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11523ed17e20d1046336ba3e057a4fe0.jpg 768w, https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11523ed17e20d1046336ba3e057a4fe0-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>A Komodo dragon latches on to a goat carcass at Zoo Atlanta.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Courtesy Elizabeth Grace Veatch<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            The team used a 3D scanning technique on the goat bones left over from Rinca\u2019s meal to evaluate them alongside the cut marks that humans made using stone tools, as well as Stegodon bones found in the Liang Bua cave.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cAfter comparing the marks on the Stegodon bones with our sample of Komodo dragon tooth marks and cutmarks, I was surprised by how similar most of the marks were to our Komodo dragon sample,\u201d Veatch wrote in an email.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Komodo dragon tooth marks were also most commonly found on the meatiest parts of Stegodon, while cut marks from the hobbits\u2019 stone tools were found in less choice parts of the animal. The researchers believe that much like how Komodo dragons hunt water buffaloes today, they were using their venomous bite to take down Stegodons \u2014 and after the scene was clear, Homo floresiensis swept in to cleave meat from what remained.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4893\">Diarrhea-causing parasite that can contaminate raw produce causing misery across several states<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            The hobbits wouldn\u2019t have been at risk of venom poisoning while scavenging because Komodo dragon venom contains proteins that stomach enzymes would break down, according to the study.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            To search for evidence of fire use, the researchers analyzed rodent bones littering the cave, deposited over thousands of years by roosting owls. If hearths had been built in the cave, underlying bones would have shown evidence of charring \u2014 but not a single bone out of the 4,500 studied was burned. No Stegodon bones showed char marks either.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<header>\n<span>\n      Related article\n    <\/span>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Flores1-bars.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-4906\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a95e7100d0f33750e8fa7097e703f0e.jpg\" width=\"256\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Yousuke Kaifu<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n<span>Newly discovered fossils shed light on the origins of curious \u2018hobbit\u2019 humans<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div>6  min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            The researchers suspect that the few burned bones found in later archaeological layers of the cave\u2019s sediments are evidence of Homo sapiens using the cave from about 46,000 ago, long after Stegodon and Homo floresiensis had disappeared.\n    <\/p>\n<h2>\n        A different evolutionary path\n<\/h2>\n<p>\n            Homo floresiensis likely lived off scavenged raw meat, plants and insects, Pobiner said, and they persisted for thousands of years despite the presence of Komodo dragons.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cGiven that modern-day Komodo dragons seem to attack humans only occasionally, and almost never attack humans unprovoked, simply living in a group and being wary of Komodo dragons may have been enough for Homo floresiensis to largely avoid becoming their prey,\u201d Pobiner wrote in an email.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            But the study highlights that prehistoric human relatives who overlapped in time with Neanderthals and modern humans could have extremely different behavioral adaptations, Pobiner added.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Continued research investigating different aspects of Homo floresiensis since the species\u2019 discovery has changed many initial interpretations about the hominins, said study coauthor Dr. Thomas Sutikna, who was part of the team that found the first fossil and has led research at Liang Bua since 2001.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Excavation team member Benyamin Tarus works on Homo floresiensis deposits at the Liang Bua site.\" class=\"wp-image-4907\" height=\"841\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/26f23d89fcbed3116f550d10f42b70fb.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/26f23d89fcbed3116f550d10f42b70fb.jpg 768w, https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/26f23d89fcbed3116f550d10f42b70fb-274x300.jpg 274w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>Excavation team member Benyamin Tarus works on Homo floresiensis deposits at the Liang Bua site.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Liang Bua Team<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Veatch is continuing her work to see whether the hobbits consumed other animals to get a better idea of their ecological role within the island ecosystem.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The idea that Homo floresiensis did not hunt or use fire could also signal a different evolutionary path for the hobbits than previously considered. It\u2019s possible that Homo floresiensis was more closely related to a different early Homo species, diverging before Homo erectus appeared.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cA more simplistic behavioral repertoire may indicate an ancestry that separated from the Homo lineage prior to these more advanced behavioral adaptations appearing in later-Homo species,\u201d Veatch said.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The new study reinforces a long-held suspicion that Homo floresiensis is not a dwarfed form of Homo erectus but a descendant of a more primitive Homo habilis-like or Australopithecus-like form that arrived on the island more than1 million years ago, said Dr. Chris Stringer, a research leader specializing in human origins and paleoanthropology at London\u2019s Natural History Museum.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<header>\n<span>\n      Related article\n    <\/span>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mandatory Credit: Photo by Shutterstock (515009di)\nThe skull of a newly discovered species of human - Homo Floresiensis. Believed to be living 18,000 years ago, barely a metre tall with a skull the size of a grapefruit. The partial skeleton was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores - 27 Oct 2004\nVARIOUS\" class=\"wp-image-4908\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bef9b2e9e9a4db8066d41014267eb340.jpg\" width=\"256\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<span>Mandatory Credit: Photo by Shutterstock (515009di)\nThe skull of a newly discovered species of human &#8211; Homo Floresiensis. Believed to be living 18,000 years ago, barely a metre tall with a skull the size of a grapefruit. The partial skeleton was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores &#8211; 27 Oct 2004\nVARIOUS<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Shutterstock<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n<span>The remarkable fossil that radically changed our understanding of the human story<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div>10  min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Homo habilis is one of the earliest known species of the Homo genus. The Australopithecus species, like the famed Lucy fossil, walked upright but had a relatively small brain closer in size to that of an ape.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Stringer was not involved in the research.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cIt reinforces the minority view that floresiensis does not really belong in the genus Homo and should be redesignated, although choosing a new genus name will not be straightforward without knowing more about its ancestry.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n    Sign up for CNN\u2019s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.\n<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4891\">Top general fired by Trump administration criticizes use of military for political missions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Instead of hunting big game or wielding fire, the hobbit-like hominin Homo floresiensis likely scavenged leftovers of prey taken down by Komodo dragons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archaeology","category-science","category-unearthed"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hobbit-like humans may have scavenged Komodo dragons\u2019 leftovers to survive - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4909\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hobbit-like humans may have scavenged Komodo dragons\u2019 leftovers to survive - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Instead of hunting big game or wielding fire, the hobbit-like hominin Homo floresiensis likely scavenged leftovers of prey taken down by Komodo dragons.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4909\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T18:07:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/52f836cc49c3201437d3fb84843f180a.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"Hobbit-like humans may have scavenged Komodo dragons\u2019 leftovers to survive\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T18:07:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909\"},\"wordCount\":1438,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0276d4d94d4f559b3d8c5294126994e0.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Archaeology\",\"Science\",\"Unearthed\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=4909\",\"name\":\"Hobbit-like humans may have scavenged Komodo dragons\u2019 leftovers to survive - 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