The Hobbit Trap: Money, Fame, Science and the Discovery of a "New Species"
2008; Aboriginal Studies Press; Volume: 2008; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0729-4352
Autores Tópico(s)Australian Indigenous Culture and History
ResumoThe Hobbit Trap: Money, fame, science and the discovery of a species Maciej Henneberg and John Schofield 2008 Wakefield Press, Kent Town, xii+159pp, ISBN 9781862547919 The history of the peopling of Wallacea, the archipelago separating Greater Australia (Sahul) from Bali, is inextricably intertwined with that of Australia, irrespective of its details. This is evident from the effects of its neglect until quite recently, and Wallacea, with its many unsolved palaeoanthropological puzzles, offers a salutary lesson in how little we really know about the origins of Australian Indigenes. This subject truly remains shrouded in the mists of academic dreamtime. Moreover, there have even been suggestions that little people from Flores could have reached Australia's shores, raising once more the ugly spectre of those 'others' and the profoundly political issues raised by a recycling of this red herring. Therefore the 'Hobbit' people of the Australian-Indonesian project led by Mike Morwood are of the greatest relevance to early Australian history. We are all familiar with the extraordinary events that followed the discovery of remains of a tiny human in Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia) a few years ago, but Henneberg and Schofield provide a surprising wealth of details behind the media brawls and the unbecoming academic conduct prompted by the find. Henneberg comes across as quite credible in the role of the underdog and truth seeker, and he is taking the greatest gamble of his career with this book. As a principal protagonist of those claiming the 'Hobbit' is not a new species, but a pathological individual, he and his side will be rendered responsible for the greatest credibility crisis in the history of palaeoanthropology--at least since Piltdown--should they lose this contest. The stakes are high, and Henneberg accuses nature and science of severe bias in connection with the 'Hobbit' affair. Henneberg's boldest claim is that one of the specimen's molars shows signs of dental work, which would place it in the early twentieth century. He demands, quite rightly, that the bones be radiocarbon dated and the tooth be analysed by independent specialists. Assuming his audacious claim turns out to be false, it would still not prove the case of Henneberg's opponents. Unless they can provide some solid fresh evidence, their case will suffer gradual fatigue, and their continuing reluctance to permit access to the fossil remains is eroding their credibility. Henneberg does present some supporting evidence in favour of his extreme proposition, but no smoking gun. His contention that the 'Hobbit' suffered from congenital or genetic defects is significantly better supported. The cranial volume is abnormal for any hominin, the type specimen's skull is distinctively asymmetric, and its 'archaic' features are typical of various pathologies. It is also true that the 'Hobbit' camp was, from the beginning, inadequately familiar with Asian pygmy remains of both the Pleistocene and Holocene. Henneberg is much better informed but, ironically, even he has not, it appears, heard of research that shows there are other 'Hobbit' populations to be found, with much the same characteristics as the controversial Liang Bua specimen. Lee R Berger (et al. 2008), a South African, excavated with his team Ucheliungs and Omedokel Caves (Chelechol ra Orrak) on the Rock Islands of Palau, where at least ten burial caves are known, finding the remains of dozens of tiny human skeletons. …
Referência(s)