Little Species, Big Mystery. The Story of Homo Floresiensis by Debbie Argue (Melbourne University Press)
"Little Species, Big Mystery: The Story of Homo Floresiensis" Dr Debbie Argue from the School of Archaeology & Anthropology was recently released by Melbourne University Publishing. See more about the book and purchasing it here.
The book has already been reviewed here by the Queensland Reviewers Collective here.
A thrilling tale of discovery and the history of Homo floresiensis.
There is only one kind of human on earth today: us. But we are only one of a number of human species - primates of the Hominini tribe - that have existed on our planet across the millennia. In 2004 the world was astounded by the discovery of Homo floresiensis, a species of human never encountered before, on the island of Flores in the Indonesian archipelago. A very short, thickset being, with long arms and feet and an appetite for stegodons (a now extinct relative of modern elephants), it was soon nicknamed 'the hobbit'. As recently as 52,500 years ago, at a time when our own ancestors were spreading around the world, these 'hobbit' cousins lived also, at least on Flores In Little Species, Big Mystery archaeologist Debbie Argue takes us on a journey of thrilling scientific discovery, recounting the unearthing of H. floresiensis, the archaeological expeditions that have followed, other finds - including that of a small Philippines hominin - and new paths of research and discussion. Argue conveys the excitement of searching for and finding clues to a lost past, and the animated discussions that have flowed from their discovery. She provides much contextual information to strengthen our grasp of the essential coordinates of this field and stimulate our interest in the shadowy, fascinating realm of prerecorded time.
About Debbie Argue
Debbie Argue recently completed an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship researching Homo floresiensis to discover its place in the human evolutionary tree. She is continuing work in a small team studying this enigmatic hominin species. In concurrence she is investigating any possible relationship between H. floresiensis and the stories of people on Flores about the past existence of little hominoids on this island; is Advisor to three ANU postgraduate students; and continues to provide peer review on behalf of a number of academic journals. Her PhD focused on human evolution in Africa and Europe in the Early Pleistocene; her MA focused on human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene. Previously Debbie was an archaeologist specialised in Australian prehistory, particularly of the Australian Alps. Prior to undertaking her PhD, she was a Heritage Officer in local government in Canberra, Australia, engaged in the identification and conservation of Aboriginal and historic heritage in the broader region