Human (20 page)

Ivy clasped her hands, grinning.
Excellent, a devil’s advocate.

“Microcephaly? Maybe. But we aren't just talking about one person here. So far there are up to twelve individuals represented from a single cave. That's twelve diseased people from a single population. Although, to be fair, we only have one complete skull so far.”

“What’s microcephaly?” asked Travis.

Oliver, the anatomy major, answered him. “It’s a pathology where the brain case is a lot smaller than normal. It’s extremely rare though. Usually the life span, intellectual ability, speech and motor function are pretty low in microcephalics due to abnormal growth of the brain. Even if these were microcephalic modern humans, I doubt they'd survive to adulthood, not in such a primitive environment.”

“Yet,” interrupted Ivy, “the archaeological evidence suggests these hunters required strategy and communication - pretty sophisticated brain functioning. Which is exactly what endocast studies are showing up now; the structure of their brains are beautifully formed with no sign of microcephaly. Just tiny.”

“Pygmies?” suggested Travis.

“Well, there are some native Indonesian populations that have a small body size, even in line with pygmies, but their brain size is proportionately normal. Our Flores friends have brains significantly smaller in relation to their body size. Perhaps the microcephalic offspring of a pygmy… but twelve?”

“Some of their skeletal morphology takes us all the way back two to four million years to the Australopithecines like
Lucy
,” Ivy continued. “Fully adducted big toes tell us they walked upright,
but
their feet are way too long for a modern human and totally flat-footed, believe me, you wouldn’t want to go shoe shopping for these guys.

“Here's a thought for you all,” Ivy offered. “New finds in Ethiopia are actually suggesting tool use might go as far back as 3.4 million years. The foundations for technology were already there, so maybe these ‘hobbits’ are an entirely new branch of humanity derived from Australopithecines that made their own way to Indonesia a million years ago? Two million years ago? Even before Homo erectus did?”

“Why not an offshoot of Homo erectus though?” asked Oliver.

“Could be,” said Ivy. “They do have similar cranial characteristics to
Homo erectus
, and we know our
erectus
poster boys were nearby in Java.”

“But
erectus
were twice their size,” Kathryn interjected, “and had a bigger brain capacity. So they would have had to shrink -
devolve
.”

“That’s true. But even if they were decendants of an Australopithecine or smaller Dmanisi hominid, they must have still evolved into a separate species on Flores sometime after they arrived.
Homo erectus
arrived there by boat 800,000 years ago,” Ivy said. “But in a limited gene pool like this, you could see massive changes in body and brain size over a relatively rapid period of time. In 800,000 years of isolation, it’s possible.”

“But why so small?” asked Claire.

“Aha!” Ivy clapped her hands, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Because these islands are famous for their bizarre effect on evolution! We've already got massive komodo dragons, giant carnivorous birds and rats as big as a cat. On the other end of the scale are dwarfed stegodon and tiny humans. In isolated populations like these islands, cut off from outside breeding, mutations emerge and flourish. Dwarfism is a common occurrence. Who knows why?”

“A larger body is an expensive resource,” said Oliver. “A large brain, especially so. It’s just natural selection. A smaller body size is more efficient if you have limited food available - you don't require as much energy to survive. If there aren't any predators, there’s less selective pressure to be bigger and stronger to compete.”

“Correct. Who’s heard of the experiments of the biologist Safi?” asked Ivy. As expected only Oliver raised his hand. “Okay well, Safi studied brain evolution in bats - he determined that brain size in bats grew bigger or smaller through evolutionary time, based entirely on the ecological niche the bats kept.” Ivy drew some quick sketches on the whiteboard to illustrate her point.

“Bats hunting in heavily forested areas needed bigger wings for manoeuvrability and had therefore evolved a bigger brain to control their wings. But for bats especially adapted to eating fruit and flowers in more open spaces, well, flying was a simpler affair. They needed less energy to control their smaller wings, and therefore developed smaller brains to manipulate them. So,” Ivy turned back to the group, “were the smaller bats stupid?”

Travis grinned. “Were they from Gotham City?” he said. Claire kicked his chair.

“Maybe,” Ivy laughed. “But they weren’t stupid. They lived, flew and fed just as effectively as any others. They simply adapted to their natural surroundings, in this case, by shrinking - brain and all.

“But isn’t mankind smart
because
we have a big brain?” asked Travis, looking confused.

“We’re smart, yes,” Ivy said. “But surely you all know the saying; it’s not how big it is that matters, it’s what you do with it.” Ivy blushed at her own joke. “
Mankind
seems to have a disturbing obsession with size.” The girls laughed and Ivy high-fived Kathryn. “
Humankind
did become smarter, unquestionably. But it’s the ratio of brain to body size that’s more important, and how you’re wired. Our brains became more complex over time, not just bigger. The number of neurons increased dramatically. The parts that help us learn, adapt, communicate, strategize and think creatively grew more connections as we faced more challenging environments and bigger social groups. It’s these nerves - the number of them, and how intricately they’re connected to one another that really influence our intelligence.” Ivy was vaguely aware of muted shuffling and chatting in the halls as classes ended.

“But, humans are not immune to natural selection,” she said quickly. “Brain size can shrink. Diet, gestational period, social system, predators – all affect the physiology of an animal over time. These evolutionary forces should act just as readily on the human species as any other mammals; we are, after all, just another animal
and
part of a complex ecosystem.” She'd kept them long enough.

“As far as Homo floresiensis is concerned, the jury's still out. So do your readings, there are a few articles coming up in the next few weeks about this very topic and I want some good debates happening in this room about it.” Ivy flicked through the loose leaf folder she pulled out of her bag. “Start with Morwood, Sutikna, Tocheri, Lentfer and Brown. We'll discuss them first up next week.” The references were scribbled down as everyone packed up and started filing to the door, looking much more inspired than when they'd arrived.

Ivy trailed after them into the hallway.

“This may be the most important palaeo-anthropological discovery in the last fifty years guys,” she had called after them, “and it really challenges our understanding of what it means to be human!”

The irony of Ivy’s current situation was much more painful than her injury.

They were an evolutionary dream; Ivy’s dream. Living, breathing fossils, now leading her through the vegetation like a trail of deadly ants.

The
hobbits
, their fossils had been dubbed by sensationalist media.
Hobbits.
Strangely, it suited them.

The hominids she followed wore only a utilitarian belt made of straps and folds of animal hide which seemed identical on both men and women. Aside from that, they were completely naked and unashamedly so. Ivy revelled in their unique physiology as they moved.

They were muscular and powerful and slightly pot-bellied, and Ivy guessed they would be of a similar body weight to Kyah. The tallest was barely over a meter high. Their legs were short relative to their height but they walked with quite long strides regardless. Unusually long, flat feet extended each stride and caused their knees to bend slightly further backward than Ivy’s own with each step, giving them an unusual gait. The hobbits seemed flexible and stable and they navigated the forest tangles with ease and familiarity.

The woman beside her directed Ivy through a fall of rocks in the undergrowth. Her shoulder blades were shrugged forward giving a slightly tight appearance. Ivy knew that anatomically, her collarbones were relatively short as well, compensating for the potential limitation of manual dexterity either characteristic would offer alone.

Ivy bent forward, using the largest rock to support her throbbing leg. Her palm slipped on wet moss and she skidded down, falling hard. The hobbit woman lunged toward her.

“No!” Ivy yelled, terrified. She scrambled to her feet as the woman stepped back, frowning. The hobbit bent down and reclaimed the spear she’d dropped to help Ivy.

“Oh. Sorry,” Ivy muttered. The woman frowned, tilting her head to the side. Her eyes narrowed at the blood stains on the bottom of Ivy’s jeans. She gestured for Ivy to keep walking.

The hobbit’s arms reached almost to her knees and were lithely muscled. Despite her size advantage, Ivy knew she was no match for the woman’s strength. Or spear. She recalled articles suggesting that these unique forearms may be reminiscent of a more aboreal lifestyle.

It wasn't long before Ivy discovered they were right.

“Shirakan! Shirakan!” A yell went up from the front of line and the first four hobbits leapt backwards. They split from the group, scattering to the closest tree trunks and pulling themselves upward. Not only were their long, muscular forearms faultless for the task, but Ivy knew the slightly curved bones of their fingers and toes would aid them in tree-climbing as well. For a split-second, their movements seemed unprovoked. All of the hobbits, as well as Kyah were now stowed high in the branches. Ivy jumped back yelling, finally seeing what the others had sensed much quicker. A lizard of gigantic proportions lumbered forward, eyeing her coldly. Its long, yellow deeply forked tongue flicked and tasted the air.
Komodo dragon.

Ivy froze with cold fear. She was the only one left in its path. The reptile was nearly nine feet long. A row of serrated inch-long teeth were coated in swathes of its own blood-tinged saliva in anticipation of feeding.

Thunk!
A spear from above found its mark on the hind quarters of the dragon.
Thunk!
Ivy bolted, clawing up the tree closest to her, shoes slipping and sliding on the bark as she tried to catch grip. Behind her the great lizard charged, faster than its size should allow.

The Komodo dragon was nearly fully grown, with loosely articulated jaws and an expandable stomach. It looked easily capable of swallowing a hobbit whole. But Ivy was considerably larger. She’d heard the horror stories of tourists caught off guard.

Great chunks of flesh and bone torn away-

I can’t grip!

The rest of the body rammed against a tree-

Slipping! My ankle, agony.

Forced down its throat head first-

Rasping! Hissing! Too close!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

More spears pierced the Komodo as it charged behind her. Ivy screamed, struggling to climb as high as the others. With unprecedented strength, four tiny hands reached down and grabbed hold of her shirt and bag from above, wrenching her up into the branches. Furious, the Komodo bore forward at the base of tree. It lurched up onto its hind legs, using its massive tail to stabilise its efforts to reach her. Its teeth scraped the sole of her shoe.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

A spear found the exposed chest of the lizard. It fell away. Before Ivy had stopped shaking enough to climb down, a handful of hunters had sliced the dragon’s throat cleanly, whispering words Ivy didn’t know. Then they retrieved sharp stone flakes from the folds of their waist hides, and quartered and drained the animal, lifting the heavy carcass onto their shoulders with apparent ease. Within minutes the hobbits were continuing on their way. The predator had become prey.

Every so often, the hunters would glance back to Ivy nervously. Only the old man seemed untroubled by her presence. He kept pace with Ivy, eyeing her limp critically and occasionally even offering encouraging noises but made no effort to talk to her again. Ivy's ankle throbbed as she struggled through the web of undergrowth, impeding their progress. Finally, the band descended onto yellow grassland spiked with low shrubs. The roar of insects and birds was replaced by the sound of gushing water. A hot breeze whipped her hair across her face and Ivy recognized the wide river she had spotted from high above. Desperation for a cold bath and deep drink suddenly hit her and she gestured to the old man, but was quickly pushed toward the hillside by a prodding spear.

Liang Bua Cave.

Ivy almost laughed out loud at the irony of it. Earlier, from far above in her despair on the ridge, then obscured by trees and tears, she couldn’t have seen the classic stretched mouth and the raised lip of its entrance that she knew from a million photos. It was a geological anomaly – a gift from the gods to archaeologists that allowed sediments to slowly build over millennia, trapping artefacts and bones inside like a beautifully layered cake. In this context it was obvious. It cemented Ivy’s understanding, and left no doubt of where she was. Her heart raced.

The drier grass gave way once more to damp forest as the small valley turned upward. Ivy picked up her feet self consciously, her footfalls and stumbles elephantine compared to the small silent bodies ascending around her.

The dark cave mouth was a gaping eye in the mountainside. A knot twisted in her gut.
What could they possibly want with me? Were there people here with them? Scientists? Surely they’d been seen by now if they’d re-claimed the site.
Kyah climbed into her arms, uneasy at the dark, confined space ahead. Ivy chanced a look to the old man staring from beside her into the cavern. He called into the cave mouth and then pulled her inside.

For a fleeting moment, Ivy's eyes were blind in the sudden darkness. A gush of cool air licked her face as movement swirled nearby. Then darkness resolved into shades of brown and grey. Hidden shapes were defined and took meaning. Ivy stood in the entrance, frozen with fear and delight.