| Abstract: |
<p><i>Homo floresiensis</i> is a small bodied hominin from the Indonesian island Flores. The type specimen, LB1, is believed to be a female of approximately 1m or a bit more than 3 feet in length with a cranial capacity of around 400 cc. There is still no agreement on the cause of the small stature and small cranial capacity of LB1 and the associated individuals.</p> <p><i>Homo floresiensis</i> displays several island adaptations, which also have been observed among the members of other typical island faunas, indicating that <i>Homo floresiensis</i> might very well have been an endemic island form. These features are characterized by pedomorphism.</p> <ul> <li>The orbital index of <i>Homo floresiensis</i> is very high compared to that of adults of <i>Homo sapiens</i>, <i>Pan troglodytes</i> and <i>Homo erectus</i>, but is more similar to the orbital index of juveniles of these species
</li> <li>The cranial base length in relation to the size of the dentition is more like that of juveniles than that of adults
</li> <li>The mandibular angle is rather high, <i>Homo floresiensis</i> displays relatively little prognathism and the fossa canina are relatively deep, comparable with <Homo erectus</i> juveniles
</li> <li>There are also pedomorphic features in the postcranial skeleton, such as the high intermembral and brachial index, the low humeral torsion and the low tibial torsion
</li> <li>The endocast of <i>Homo floresiensis</i> is more comparable to Mojokerto child than to adult <i>Homo erectus</i>. </ul> <p>The features displayed by <i>Homo floresiensis</i> give an indication of the manner of dwarfing, which was by truncating growth through increase in the rate of skeletal ossification, possible caused by hormonal changes.</p>
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