Maybe "The Lord of the Rings" isn't a fantasy after all.
Fossils discovered this week on an Indonesian island suggest the existence of three-foot tall, human-like creatures — hobbits — some 700,000 years ago.
The New York Times says scientists digging on Liang Bua Island discovered teeth, a partial jaw and stone tools which belong to an ancient relative of humans called Homo floresiensis.
The discovery enhances an older discovery of a human-like skull, then a pelvis, jaw and other bones on the same island which belong to the unknown species.
"They were truly little people ..." said Richard Roberts of the University of Wollongong, who was a member of first team.
The find comes seven months after the discovery of an
ancient tooth in Siberia revealed that a group of human-like peoples known as the Denisovans live alongside Neanderthals and our own Homo sapien species for tens of thousands of years.
Hobbits became popularized in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins was the leader of the small-bodied race that inhabited Middle-Earth.
The novels inspired a series of Hollywood blockbusters as well as the 60's record
"The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins," sung by "Star Trek's" Leonard Nimoy.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.