new hominid

[Ken Kinman]

Dear All,
      My initial impression is that this is definitely Homo, but I would have been inclined to have named it only as a new subspecies, _Homo erectus floresiensis_.   The most recent of this material appears to be about 12,000 years old.

     Assuming that it is the same as the "Ebu Gogo" on Flores (which haven't been seen for over a 100 years), the chances are even better that good DNA samples can be found.  But I think Dr. Gee is overly optimistic that a small extant population might still exist.  In any case, the co-existence of modern man with _floresiensis_ until 12,000 years ago is remarkable in itelf.  But even more startling is the small brain size.
       ------ Cheers,
                  Ken Kinman