Hobbits - a metre-high, tiny-brained people - whose remains were found on an Indonesian island, may actually have been a dwarf version of an early human species, claim scientists.
Researchers have found that the creatures may have shrunk as a result of island dwarfism as it adapted to its environment.
The study of the remains of the hobbits shows that it is possible for it to have been a dwarf form of an early human species, 'BBC News' reported.
The hobbit co-existed with the human species until 12,000 years ago, researchers said.
Researchers have struggled to explain the origins of these metre-high, tiny-brained people, known scientifically as Homo floresiensis since its discovery in 2003.
One popular theory revolves around the fact that the hobbit evolved from a relatively large brained and large bodied human that was prevalent in east Asia, known as Homo erectus.
The theory suggests that after H erectus moved to Flores, the creature began to shrink in size over the generations by a process known as island dwarfism, which has been seen to occur in other species.
However, critics argued that it would be impossible for erectus's brain to shrink so much in relation to its body.
Other theories suggest that these creatures are either a small group of modern humans, Homo sapiens, whose brains and bodies have been prevented from growing normally because of a wasting disease, or that they are descendants of tiny-brained ape-like creatures, the report said.
Now, analysis by Japanese researchers using brain scans, which includes Dr Yousuke Kaifu of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, shows that the hobbit's brain was a little larger than previous estimates had suggested.
Kaifu and his colleagues carried out a comparative analysis of the ratio of brain to body size of present-day humans which they say indicates that it is indeed possible for erectus's brain to have shrunk to the size of the hobbit's.
The study was published in the Royal Society's Proceedings B Journal.
