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About twenty years ago, human history became a lot more complicated.
In 2003, archaeologists excavating Liang Bua, a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, found a small human-like skull. More bones followed, and at first, archaeologist Thomas Sutikna and his team thought they had discovered the ancient fossils of a child.
But the teeth belonged to an adult. When the researchers cleaned the specimen, they realized they were looking at a newly discovered species of human that lived 60,000 years ago: Homo floresiensis.
The fossils have baffled scientists ever since. But a new revelation sheds more light on how the diminutive human - nicknamed hobbit after JRR Tolkien's fictional characters - might have evolved.
We are family
A recent analysis of Homo floresiensis fossils found at the Mata Menge site on Flores supports the idea that hobbits were a miniaturized version of the extinct species Homo erectus. And the newly studied fossils represent an earlier hobbit that was 2.4 inches (6.1 centimeters) smaller than the first specimen.
Homo erectus was the first ancient human to migrate out of Africa about 1.9 million years ago. Although Homo erectus had a gait and body size similar to modern humans, researchers believe the species shrank in size over the hundreds of thousands of years after it became isolated on Flores.
An excavated humerus is the smallest human limb bone ever found. Digital analysis revealed it belonged to an adult about 90 centimeters tall who probably lived 700,000 years ago.
Together, the fossils of Homo floresiensis paint a picture of a hardy species that managed to adapt and thrive despite the presence of enormous Komodo dragons.
Defying gravity
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have already exceeded their planned eight days in low-Earth orbit after traveling to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner in June. Now the duo may have to stay on the station until February.
NASA is still trying to determine if Starliner can safely return the astronauts to Earth. If not, they could return home later aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon. That would mean two other astronauts would be kicked out of the planned Crew 9 mission to the space station in September.
So how are Wilmore and Williams spending their time? They've joined the seven-member crew on the station to help with experiments and tech demos, but have also had opportunities to have some fun in microgravity.
Dig this up
Excavations at the site where Anglo-Saxons buried their dead near Suffolk, England, in the sixth and seventh centuries have revealed interesting pieces of an unfinished, centuries-old puzzle.
In June, teams at the Sutton Hoo site carried out metal detecting work and used ground penetrating radar in an area called the Garden Field, finding more pieces of the Bromeswell bucket.
The sixth-century Byzantine bucket, likely made in Turkey, depicts a North African hunting scene with warriors, lions and a hunting dog. Archaeologists previously found and reconstructed fragments of the artifact during separate events in 1986 and 2012.
Once upon a time on a planet
Egyptologists have long debated the way pyramids were built over 4,000 years ago. The stones weighed hundreds of kilos.
New research suggests the Egyptians may have used a hydraulic lift to levitate the huge blocks through the middle of the Step Pyramid, built for Pharaoh Djoser in the 27th century BC.
The land of Egypt was once a savannah. Its inhabitants may have used water from ancient rivers to create a complex water purification system and a water elevator in the inner shaft of the pyramid.
However, some experts agree, based on current evidence, that the Egyptians used ramps and conveyances to move the blocks into place.
Moon update
NASA's fully assembled VIPER rover is nearly ready to begin searching for water ice at the lunar south pole that future astronauts could use. But there are concerns that the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover may never reach its intended destination.
The US space agency recently canceled its plans to send the half-billion-dollar robotic explorer to the moon due to budget constraints.
Some lawmakers are calling on NASA to save the rover, saying it could be crucial to future U.S. lunar ambitions.
But commercial companies are also competing for a chance to bid on the rover, salvage it and send it to the moon as planned.
Curiosities
Stay up to date on these surprising developments in space and science:
- An ancient pot of gold unearthed in Turkey points to a "great misfortune," according to the leader of the expedition that found the treasure.
- A Long March 6A rocket launching a constellation of satellites from China broke apart, creating debris that could impact satellites in low Earth orbit.
- The large presence of fishermen in India's Lakshadweep archipelago is driving square groupers away from courting potential mates. Moreover, the switch from flirting to flying could have consequences for the fish population.
- Scientists have discovered water and an "unknown lunar mineral" in soil samples collected on the moon by China's Chang'e-5 probe.
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