New hominid fossil find in Indonesia

An international team behind the discovery of the hobbit species in Indonesia have now found what they believe to be the ancestors of the diminutive hominin - after finding skull fragments dated at 700,000 years old.

The remains of a female hobbit or homo floresiensis, were discovered in Liang Bua cave in 2003 - she is believed to be between 60 thousand and 100 thousand years old and would have stood at about a metre tall.

But the new fossil finds predate her by more than half a million years.

Hominid 1st Molar and Incisor

Hominid Milk Canine

Hominid Mandibulas Ramus

Reconstructed Homo floresiensis cranium

Facial approximation by Dr Susan Hayes of the Hobbit.

Excavation site at Mata Menge

Dr Gerrit van den Bergh from the University of Wollongong (front) at the excavation site.png

flaked tool in a fossil soil beneath a volcanic ash deposit dated c. 1 million years.

tone tools being excavated at Mata Menge

Brent in the Soa Basin (field area)

time-consuming task of piecing together bone fragments

Excavation of elephant (Stegadon) from Mata Menge.

Brent Alloway of Auckland University is part of the team talks to Jesse Mulligan.