Nemi -> Yes, Teuku Jacob was very much against the idea of accepting homo floresiensis as a new species, and yes, there was some damage to the mandible (i think) when the specimen was moved to Jakarta. However, there’s a lot more going on than what we read in the news. For one, the damage to the jaw seems to be exaggerated, and I think the media has played up what was initially a professional difference of opinion and exacerbated the situation into a jingoistic feud between the Indonesians and Australians. I think both sides now present very interesting and equally compelling arguments, and while I’m still rooting for a new species theory, I’m sitting on the fence now. I’ve come across a paper by the late Dr Jacob that presents his side of the story and I’m still reading it through.

As for the origins of evolution, once again I’m probably not qualified to comment about it. I do think we’ve got the broad picture just about right, and we’re now working on the finer details.

I read that the highest anthropological authority in Indonesia is refusing to accept Homo Floresiensis as a new species, and that the skeletal remains were badly damage when the Indonesian team moved them to Jakarta. Do you have any news on that?

A press letter yesterday on the Spanish media said that recent DNA discoveries made by Maria Martinon-Torres, of the Atapuerca site suggests that there is more relation between their neanderthal remains and some asian samples. So now they are thinking that perhaps human evolution started in Asia, and not in Africa.