A new study links climate stress to the disappearance of the early human species Homo floresiensis, known as the “hobbits” of Flores.
An international group of researchers, including scientists from the University of Wollongong (UOW), has uncovered strong evidence linking climate change to the disappearance of the early human species Homo floresiensis, commonly called the “hobbits.” Their findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, suggest that this small-bodied human species left Liang Bua, a cave they had lived in for roughly 140,000 years, during a prolonged period of drought that persisted for thousands of years.
To reach their conclusions, the researchers analyzed chemical signals preserved in cave stalagmites alongside isotopic evidence from fossilized teeth of a pygmy elephant species (Stegodon florensis insularis) that formed a key part of the hobbits’ diet. These data point to a long-term shift toward drier conditions starting about 76,000 years ago.
The drying intensified into severe drought between roughly 61,000 and 55,000 years ago, closely matching the period when Homo floresiensis vanished from the area. Ongoing water shortages and growing competition for limited resources likely forced the hobbits to leave Liang Bua and may have contributed to their eventual extinction.
The findings underscore the powerful role that environmental change can play in shaping the survival of species. In this case, shifts in rainfall patterns appear to have had lasting consequences for one of our closest extinct human relatives.
Environmental Stress and a Changing Landscape
“The ecosystem around Liang Bua became dramatically drier around the time Homo floresiensis vanished,” said UOW Honorary Professor Dr Mike Gagan, the lead author of the study. “Summer rainfall fell and river-beds became seasonally dry, placing stress on both hobbits and their prey.”
The discovery builds on decades of groundbreaking UOW research into Homo floresiensis, first discovered in 2003 in Liang Bua on the Indonesian island of Flores. Dubbed the hobbit due to its tiny stature, Homo floresiensis challenged prevailing theories of human evolution. It disappears from the fossil record around 50,000 years ago, but its fate has remained an enigma.
A Vanishing Food Source
The scientists used stalagmites, a natural archive of rainfall, to reconstruct past climate and rainfall. Analysis of oxygen-isotopes in fossil tooth enamel showed the pygmy elephants relied on river water, which became increasingly scarce. The pygmy elephant population fell steeply around 61,000 years ago, meaning that an important food source for the hobbits was disappearing.
“Surface freshwater, Stegodon and Homo floresiensis all decline at the same time, showing the compounding effects of ecological stress,” UOW Honorary Fellow Dr Gert van den Berg said. “Competition for dwindling water and food probably forced the hobbits to abandon Liang Bua.”
While Homo floresiensis fossils predate the earliest evidence of modern humans on Flores, Homo sapiens were traversing the Indonesian archipelago around the time the hobbits disappeared.
“It’s possible that as the hobbits moved in search of water and prey, they encountered modern humans,” Dr Gagan said. “In that sense, climate change may have set the stage for their final disappearance.”\
Reference: “Onset of summer aridification and the decline of Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua 61,000 years ago” by Michael K. Gagan, Linda K. Ayliffe, Mika R. Puspaningrum, Gerrit D. van den Bergh, Nick Scroxton, Wahyoe S. Hantoro, Heather Scott-Gagan, Scott A. Condie, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, Jian-xin Zhao, John C. Hellstrom, Alena K. Kimbrough, Matthew J. Gagan, Bambang W. Suwargadi, Joan A. Cowley, Bronwyn C. Dixon, Garry K. Smith, Neil Anderson, Henri Wong and Hamdi Rifai, 8 December 2025, Communications Earth & Environment.
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02961-3
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2 Comments
What’s water, precious? 😅
So we big ‘uns need less water than t’litte ‘uns?