Encore for Evolutionary Small-Timers: Tiny human cousins get younger with new finds

Recently excavated remains of half-size human ancestors on the Indonesian island of Flores indicate that these ancient individuals belonged to a distinctive species that survived until about 12,000 years ago, which is longer than researchers initially estimated.

NOT-SO-BIG DIG. In a cave on an Indonesian island, investigators search for remains of tiny, humanlike ancestors, exemplified by this 20-centimeter-tall skull (below).