Day 69 - a day off the bike and a trip to the "hobbit" cave - Unfinished Business

July 8, 2023

Day 69 - a day off the bike and a trip to the "hobbit" cave

I could easily have done another big day today but a half hour's motor scooter journey from here is one of the pieces in the puzzle of human evolution.

Liang Bua where, on September 2, 2003, archeologists unearthed the skull of what MAY be a new species of human, Homo floresiensis.

I visited with a local guide, Yuven, from the homestay. We did a circular trip that included visiting some of his extended family.

Looking out. It's a relatively small (50 m) and very exposed cave.

It was here in the paddy that assistants washed and sifted thousands of specimens - bones from many species, stone tools, etc.

There's a nearby museum that has a skeleton and gives a good summary of human evolution.

Science is all about evidence and conflicting opinions. I'll let those who have spent their lives studying human evolution to debate the origins of these specimens and whether it's a new Homo sp.

I can, however, offer some insight on predator-prey relations. The so-called hobbits shared the place with some reasonably nasty creatures, including Komodo dragons. Adult dragons weigh anything between 70 and 165 kg. If you weigh less than 30 kg and a dragon comes sniffing around for your baby, then you've got a problem.

We continued in a circle through mountainous terrain on narrow roads much steeper than any I have cycled. Unlike in "developed" countries, farms here are mixed and crops grow together. The absence of a planting grid makes it look natural.

Very hard to photograph but coffee in the foreground, clove (left), candlebark tree and banana.

It's coffee harvest so everyone is drying small quantities, mostly for home consumption with the excess for sale.

Yuven's extended family live and farm on steep slopes. The footpath down to the house will keep you fit. It was there that I had coffee, lunch and palm wine that they also distil to arak.

Yuven on the steep path. I'm amazed at the way the locals mill timber in this environment.

Eight people from three generations live in this house.

Everyone wanted a photo - the advantage of phones. This is Orgi.

On the way back we met the trans-Flores Highway west of Ruteng. It may be mainly downhill to Labuan Bajo but it's a huge climb to get out of Ruteng. I might start early!

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Graham SmithI remember Julian Cribb being very excited about the discovery of these fossils, and him doing his utmost to raise public awareness of the significance of them. But I haven’t heard much about them in the public media since that flurry of activity quite a while ago.

It certainly looks like the site is well worth a visit. Especially if the museum adds to the experience of seeing the cave, and general location of the research work.
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