homo floresiensis: little people, big ideas
DESCRIPTION
Megan Smith describes how her time in East Timor and the discovery of an ancient midget species of hominid shook the foundations of her mental wall between science and myth.TRANSCRIPT
Megan Smith, Nerd Nite Siem Reap, July 2011
how homo floresiensis blew my mind
Portuguese colony for 400 years
Occupied by Indonesia for 25 years
Independent since 2002
Mostly Catholic and Animist blend
Ceremony held for lost bodies Family goes out to the woods to find the bones
Funeral is held once bones are recovered
Death Possessions to give voice to the dead Séances to determine cause of death
Non-ingested poison
Black snakes sent by witches
Sacred places Protecting Resources (mouths of rivers) Protecting People (undertow, crocs)
Crocodile can do no wrong If a crocodile eats you, you have done something
wrong
Clearly this was nonsense
Little furry people
Live in caves and trees
Magical powers
White and black magic
In Indonesia “Ebu Gogo”
Rai Nain or papaya stump?
National Geographic cover story on bones
12,000 years ago, co-existing with H. sapiens
Short furry people living in caves and trees
Possibly not extinct!
Hobbits?
Scandal, maybe just microcephaly?
Theories of co-existence with homo sapiens
Parallels with similar legends throughout the Indonesian archipelago
Preservation of realities as legends over so many years
Flores Furries ate giant rats (up to 1m+ in length)
Timor has the world’s largest rats and rat fossils
Hunted by giant lizards (aka Komodo Dragons)
Deadly bite!
Science vs. Magic
Blending of science and belief
Delayed scientific explanation
VS.
Sushi anyone? Numbing chemical
in blowfish used to make zombies
Juliet’s fake death
Epilepsy and wandering souls
Effect of spiritual beliefs on physical health and medical treatment
I don’t believe in magic, but I’m slower to dismiss myths and beliefs as nonsense.
Myths informed by science
Science guided by myths