Homo floresiensis were discovered on the small island of Flores in Indonesia from about 100,000 to 50,000 years ago. Their skeletons were around 3 feet tall and they had an incredibly small brain meaning that they had a much less complicated brain than what it possible evolved from. Due to the fact that they were isolated on the island, scientists hypothesis that they must have walked across continents, or swam across bodies of water. There are many theories about how they came to the island as well as their size. Because of their isolation of being on an island it is likely that they evolved much slower than other groups. I find this aspect very interesting because you would think for a species that was isolated, they would have large brains and be very big and strong in order to have the best chance at survival. The small stature of Homo Floresiensis could be because of island dwarfism. Island dwarfism occurs because of long-term isolation on an island with almost no food resources and a lack of predators. This is very similar to to what happened with the Homo erectus. Shrinking happened because of an evolutionary response of the island’s limited resources. 

The stone tools found are believed to have been used for hunting. Animal bones were also found with stone marking on them leaving scientists believe that the stones were use to kill the animals for food.  It was believed that they died because of modern humans coming to the island. But, after looking into this further, it was found that these people did not exist at the same time as modern humans.Another theory is that a volcano erupted and the volcanic ash killed all the vegetation and animals. This idea was due to the discovery of volcanic ash on fossilized remains which indicates that an eruption may have killed them. The homo floresiensis were found not that long ago. In 2004, scientists found the remains in a cavern. The cavern was a huge part in the preserve of the bones and tools. If they were not in this location, they most likely would have been ruined quicker due to human interaction and environmental causes.

One of the main contributions these findings have made to the study of human diversity is that we can see how these people evolved by themselves on an island and we can relate that to how we as modern humans continue to evolve in our different areas of the world today. The fossilized remains have taught us so much about the similarities and differences we as modern humans have with those people. They have also showed us how far we have come, how we use our resources differently and how far we have come since then. I think we are able to see how we hunt and survive differently than before. Looking at these fossils allows us to see how much we have changed and the progress we have made since then.