Compare the Brains
LB1
The hobbit skeleton is known as LB1, for the cave where it was
found, Liang Bua (Cold Cave). The team's measurements revealed that
LB1's brain was as small as that of 3.2 million-year-old "Lucy," or
about the size of a chimp's. (See
Who's Who in Human Evolution
for more on our rich evolutionary history.) But LB1 was associated
with charred bones, stone tools, and remains of Stegodon, a
now-extinct dwarf elephant, suggesting her kind knew how to use
fire, cook, and hunt. How could a tiny hominin with a chimp-sized
brain have had such advanced behaviors? Comparing brains, the team
decided, might help provide an answer. (Above, LB1's skull.)