[Taxacom] "Hobbit" research

[Kenneth Kinman]

Dear All,
       I was just reading a relatively recent paper 
(Gordon, Novell, and Wood, 2008, in Proc. Natl. Acad. of Sciences) which
not only summarizes much of the previous literature on the "hobbit"
debate, but also concludes that floresiensis is indeed a primitive form
of genus Homo.  Their analyses show that it falls closest to early Homo
erectus (such as georgicus), but they couldn't rule out a relationship
to Homo habilis.  Excellent paper!!!  The link below will take you to
the abstract and full text.
          --------Cheers,
                        Ken Kinman
 
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/12/4650.full