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Flores Man is not a separate species from
Homo sapiens...
Teuku Jacob |
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.
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 Hürriyet, the Hacettepe University
anthropologist Professor Metin Özbek also challenged the claim, which
is being sought to be popularized in the media, that Flores man is a separate
species. Professor Özbek 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 Özbek
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.
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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 Baþaran, "Floresli kadýn için Türk
bilim adamlarý ne diyor?", www.hurriyetim.com.tr, 7 November
2004
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