Scientists think ancient human species might still be alive on Flores Island
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It was only about 20 years ago that scientists discovered a small but complete skeleton of an extinct species of human on the island of Flores, Indonesia.
The scientists had been looking for evidence of migration of humans from Asia to Australia, because if we all originated from the same place but managed to spread ourselves across the world then somebody had to make that first journey.
The skeleton, IFL Science reports, was soon dubbed 'Homo floresiensis' after the island it was discovered upon.
However, it wasn't long before people dubbed this species of human 'Hobbit' due to its size, which reminded them of the diminutive but determined folk from Lord of the Rings.
Initial research upon the small skeleton determined that Homo floresiensis had made it up until about 12,000 years ago before joining the 'extinct' list.
However, further studies suggested that it would be more accurate to say that the species of humans likely died out for good about 50,000 years ago which is a pretty big difference.
Meanwhile, an anthropologist by the name of Gregory Forth thinks that maybe this species of ancient human hasn't died out at all and there could still be some of them alive today.
If you're willing to entertain the idea that Bigfoot is wandering around somewhere then you can add this to the list of potentially believable things out there.
Forth argues that other scientists have for too long ignored the signs which point towards the possibility of an 'ape-man' living in the forests on Flores.
Penning his thesis in The Scientist, he argued that he had spoken to plenty of eyewitnesses who had seen something which could be evidence of the 'Hobbit' still living to this day.
He wrote: "My aim in writing the book was to find the best explanation - that is, the most rational and empirically best supported - of Lio accounts of the creatures.
"These include reports of sightings by more than 30 eyewitnesses, all of whom I spoke with directly.
"And I conclude that the best way to explain what they told me is that a non-sapiens hominin has survived on Flores to the present or very recent times."
He noted that local accounts of something not quite human still bore an 'eerie similarity to humans', and that something which was so similar to us and yet so different could be seen as 'problematic and disturbing'.
The truth may be out there, and Forth has suggested that it's either still living or only died out within the last 100 years instead of 50,000.
