Drought Linked to Hobbit Extinction in Ireland

Drought and volcanic activity may have contributed to the extinction of Homo floresiensis, commonly known as hobbits, according to research reported by Live Science. A team of researchers, including Nick Scroxton from Maynooth University, analyzed a stalagmite from Liang Luar, a cave near Liang Bua on the Indonesian island of Flores.

The stalagmite's composition indicated a decline in rainfall from over sixty inches to forty inches between seventy-six thousand and sixty-one thousand years ago, culminating in a volcanic eruption fifty thousand years ago that blanketed the island in rock.

The researchers also studied the teeth of Stegodon, an extinct relative of elephants that Homo floresiensis hunted. They found that the Stegodon population plummeted during this period, suggesting that as water sources dwindled, these animals may have migrated away, which could have prompted the hobbits to follow.

This migration may have led to direct competition for resources with migrating modern humans along the coastline. These findings provide crucial insights into how prehistoric climate factors impacted species survival, particularly in relation to the extinction of Homo floresiensis, as noted in the original scholarly article published in Communications Earth & Environment.