Reconstruction of the complete foot of one of the
Homo floresiensis that inhabited Flores Island 18,000 years ago has allowed anthropologist William Jungers to conclude that the
Hobbit's foot was extremely large for its short stature (approximately 1 meter). "It would be like a girl wearing her mother's shoes," jokes the researcher, who has presented his work at the last meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. That made the little humanoid walk similar to how a clown would. In addition, it seems that his peculiar anatomy forced him to move somewhat
slowly . "I would never have won the marathon," Junger says.
His work also shows that the proportions of the Flower Man's fingers were similar to those of more primitive hominids like Australopithecus , with the thumb shorter than the rest. However, the shape of the fingers is very reminiscent of modern man.
New Scientist (www.newscientist.com)
