Flores Man is not a separate species from Homo sapiens...
We have already responded
to the claims made regarding the discovery of Flores Man that elicited such
worldwide media interest. The latest reactions from the scientific world have
been of such a nature as to confirm that response.
Teuku Jacob
One important figure to announce his views is the Indonesian paleoanthropologist
Teuku Jacob. An evolutionist, Jacob is head of the paleoanthropology laboratory
at Gadjah Mada University. The institute is known for housing many fossils unearthed
within the borders of Indonesia and ascribed to the fictitious evolution of
man. In that regard, Jacob’s words are of particular importance in opposing
the evolutionist scenario concerning Homo floresiensis.
A press statement distributed by the AFP agency and titled “Indonesian
scientist says Flores hominid not new species,” reads:
A leading Indonesian scientist challenged the widely publicised
theory that the fossilised bones found on the eastern island of Flores were
from a previously unknown species of human. Professor Teuku Jacob, chief palaeontologist
from the state Gadjah Mada University, will carry out tests to prove the fossils
are from a sub-species of Homo sapiens – “an
ordinary human being, just like us”.
“It is not a new species. It is a sub-species of
Homo sapiens classified under the Australomelanesid race. If it’s not
a new species, why should it be given a new name?” the professor
said. (i)
To recapitulate, evolutionists pointed to H. floresiensis’
rather small brain volume in describing it as a separate species. However, Jacob
states that this small brain volume may be a sign of mental abnormalities rather
than representing evidence for a separate species. (Jacob is at the same time
an expert pathologist.) In addition, the dwarfism process estimated to have
led to this small brain volume in Flores Man is also encountered in other human
races. Jacob emphasizes that such dwarfism is to be observed not only on Flores,
but also in Central Mountain, Papua and Andaman, Aceh. The fact that dwarfism
is known in other human races constitutes a new indication of the error in describing
H. floresiensis as a separate “species” based on that dwarfism.
At the same time, a report on the daily Jakarta Post website headed
“Indonesian experts deny ‘Flores Man’ fossil claim,”
reported similar views held by Harry Widianto of the Yogyakarta Archeology Agency.
Widianto states that Flores man is merely a subspecies of H. sapiens,
in other words a modern human race. He also emphasizes that these fossils should
be named H. sapiens floresiensis. (ii)
It is not only Indonesian scientists who are expressing the error
of Flores Man being described as a separate species. In the supplement to the
Sunday edition of the Turkish daily Hurriyet, the Hacettepe University
anthropologist Professor Metin Ozbek also challenged the claim, which is being
sought to be popularized in the media, that Flores man is a separate species.
Professor Ozbek says:
The claim that this discovery will create a revolution in anthropology
is rather exaggerated. I don’t know how accurate it is to regard
the skeleton found on the island of Flores as an entirely separate species.
It could be a racial variety of H. sapiens. The facts that
its brain is small and its stature short are interesting, but these have also
been previously present in pygmies. Microcephaly (a small brain) is a known
phenomenon. (iii)
Conclusion:
These statements by such expert scientists as Jacob, Widianto
and Ozbek are a literal reiteration of the main line of our response regarding
Flores Man.
The attempt to describe the Flores Man fossils as
a separate species to modern man is based on no scientific grounds and constitutes
no support for the theory of evolution.
The fact that the “separate species” description
of Flores Man launched by evolutionists is being challenged by other evolutionists
once again reveals the uncertainty shrouding the evolutionary claims regarding
the fossils in question.
i “Indonesian scientist says Flores hominid
not new species”, AFP Science by Yahoo, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1539&e=3&u=/afp/20041106/sc_afp/indonesia_science_palaeontology_041106133524
ii “Indonesian experts deny 'Flores man' fossil claim”, The
Jakarta Post Online, 5 November 2004
iii Ezgi Basaran, “Floresli kadin için Türk bilim adamlari
ne diyor?”, www.hurriyetim.com.tr, 7 November 2004
