When Hobbits Were Real

Thanks to Raycon wireless earphones for supporting PBS. Learn more at http://buyraycon.com/eons PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to http://to.pbs.org/DonateEons Check Out Sound Field: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvMLMyKPomE6kTTL9Kv8Iww Its discoverers named it Homo floresiensis, but it’s often called “the hobbit” for its short stature and oddly proportioned feet. And it’s been at the center of a major controversy in the field ever since. Was it its own species? Or was it really just one of us? Or, could it even have descended from a whole lineage of hominins that we don’t even know about? Thank you to these paleoartists for allowing us to use their wonderful illustrations: Julio Lacerda: https://252mya.com/gallery/julio-lacerda Ceri Thomas: http://alphynix.tumblr.com/ Franz Anthony: https://252mya.com/gallery/franz-anthony Fabrizio De Rossi: https://252mya.com/gallery/Fabrizio-De-Rossi Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios Super special thanks to the following Patreon patrons for helping make Eons possible: Katie Fichtner, Anthony Callaghan, Jack Arbuckle, David Sewall, Anton Bryl, Ben Thorson, Andrey, MissyElliottSmith, The Scintillating Spencer, Zachary Spencer, Stefan Weber, Ilya Murashov, Robert Amling, Po Foon Kwong, Larry Wilson, Merri Snaidman, John Vanek, Neil H. Gray, Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle, Gregory Donovan, Gabriel Cortez, Marcus Lejon, Robert Arévalo Robert Hill, Todd Dittman, Betsy Radley, PS, Philip Slingerland, Eric Vonk, Henrik Peteri, Jonathan Wright, Jon Monteiro, James Bording, Brad Nicholls, Miles Chaston, Michael McClellan, Jeff Graham, Maria Humphrey, Nathan Paskett, Connor Jensen, Daisuke Goto, Hubert Rady, Gregory Kintz, Tyson Cleary, Chandler Bass, Joao Ascensao, Tsee Lee, Alex Yan If you d like to support the channel, head over to http://patreon.com/eons and pledge for some cool rewards! Want to follow Eons elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eonsshow Twitter - https://twitter.com/eonsshow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eonsshow/ References: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_m5Cr8QO358MZf69S18ba50RkGLL7Ew46i5ITAbHsCs/