Brains, islands and evolution: breaking all the rules.
The announcement in 2004 that a small-brained hominin, Homo floresiensis, had been discovered on the island of Flores, Indonesia, was hailed as a major scientific breakthrough because it challenged preconceptions about the evolution of our closest relatives. Now, just over two years later, questions raised by the interpretation of the fossil abound. In a series of recent papers, critics have questioned the interpretation of the small brain volume of the fossil as that of a new hominin species, suggesting instead that it was due to microcephaly. The arguments raised by critics and advocates alike prompt a re-examination of ideas about what is possible during the evolution of the brain.
Niven
Jeremy E
JE
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá, República de Panamá. nivenj@si.edu
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004392:Dwarfism; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000523:psychology; D007214:Indonesia; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000473:pathology