Cancer claims man who found hobbits
Source: AFP |
July 25, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Australian archaeologist who rocked the science world with his discovery of a tiny new species of human known as the "hobbit" has died.
Mike Morwood, the professor instrumental in the discovery of Homo floresiensis in 2003, died after a year-long battle with cancer, the University of Wollongong said. He was 62.
"It was the adventure of a lifetime for Mike," long-time colleague Bert Roberts said of the revelation on the Indonesian island of Flores which shook the scientific community and the world's understanding of human evolution.
"The fact that he actually could discover a brand new species of human, I mean, how many archaeologists and anthropologists can ever do that?
"It really is a very, very rare treat and Mike was just absolutely overjoyed to be able to go through that adventure, because it's never to be repeated."
Roberts, director of the Centre for Archaeological Science at Wollongong, said Morwood was an inspiration to many of the early-career researchers who worked on the bizarre find in Flores, including a generation of young Indonesian researchers.
New Zealand-born Morwood, who earned his PhD from the Australian National University in Canberra, was also an expert on Aboriginal rock art.
But he is best known for leading the team of Australian and Indonesian researchers that uncovered the partial skeleton of a woman one meter tall at Liang Bua, a limestone cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003.
A further six partial skeletons of the tiny humans, who weighed just 30 kilos and had the brain the size of a chimp's, were later found, in addition to skeletons of megafaunal species including an extinct close relative of modern elephants and giant tortoise.
The discovery sparked an intellectual battle that has raged ever since with one side declaring the "hobbits" - a nickname inspired by JRR Tolkien's tales - a separate species while others argue they had a disorder that made them small.
Mike Morwood, the professor instrumental in the discovery of Homo floresiensis in 2003, died after a year-long battle with cancer, the University of Wollongong said. He was 62.
"It was the adventure of a lifetime for Mike," long-time colleague Bert Roberts said of the revelation on the Indonesian island of Flores which shook the scientific community and the world's understanding of human evolution.
"The fact that he actually could discover a brand new species of human, I mean, how many archaeologists and anthropologists can ever do that?
"It really is a very, very rare treat and Mike was just absolutely overjoyed to be able to go through that adventure, because it's never to be repeated."
Roberts, director of the Centre for Archaeological Science at Wollongong, said Morwood was an inspiration to many of the early-career researchers who worked on the bizarre find in Flores, including a generation of young Indonesian researchers.
New Zealand-born Morwood, who earned his PhD from the Australian National University in Canberra, was also an expert on Aboriginal rock art.
But he is best known for leading the team of Australian and Indonesian researchers that uncovered the partial skeleton of a woman one meter tall at Liang Bua, a limestone cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003.
A further six partial skeletons of the tiny humans, who weighed just 30 kilos and had the brain the size of a chimp's, were later found, in addition to skeletons of megafaunal species including an extinct close relative of modern elephants and giant tortoise.
The discovery sparked an intellectual battle that has raged ever since with one side declaring the "hobbits" - a nickname inspired by JRR Tolkien's tales - a separate species while others argue they had a disorder that made them small.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
