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Eons

When Hobbits Were Real

Season 2 Episode 40 | 9m 10s

Its discoverers named it Homo floresiensis, but it’s often called “the hobbit” for its short stature and oddly proportioned feet. And it’s been at the center of a major controversy in the field ever since. Was it its own species? Or was it really just one of us? Or, could it even have descended from a whole lineage of hominins that we don’t even know about?

Aired: 11/05/19
Extras
Watch • 10:27
Eons
When a Tiny Land Bridge Triggered an Ice Age
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
Episode: S8 E8 | 10:27
Watch • 9:07
Eons
What Was Greenland Like When it Was Green
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Episode: S8 E7 | 9:07
Watch • 9:35
Eons
How Chewing May Have Beat Extinction
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Episode: S8 E6 | 9:35
Watch • 10:43
Eons
How We Figured Out an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Episode: S8 E5 | 10:43
Watch • 8:19
Eons
Crawling Out Of The Water Was An Evolutionary Accident
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
Episode: S8 E4 | 8:19
Watch • 12:07
Eons
Do Chins Make Us Human?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.
Episode: S8 E3 | 12:07
Watch • 12:40
Eons
The Golden Age of Sharks
Why did sharks get so incredibly diverse and odd during the Golden Age?
Episode: S8 E2 | 12:40
Watch • 10:45
Eons
That Time Earth was Sticky
What exactly made this time period so very, very sticky?
Episode: E1 | 10:45
Watch • 9:15
Eons
When Dinosaurs Threw Up A Mystery
How dino stomachs are revealing a mystery.
Special: 9:15
Watch • 10:47
Eons
Did Dinosaurs' Extinction Give Us Fruit?
One of the most surprising effects of the cascade of changes was...fruit?
Special: 10:47
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Watch • 10:27
Eons
When a Tiny Land Bridge Triggered an Ice Age
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
Episode: S8 E8 | 10:27
Watch • 9:07
Eons
What Was Greenland Like When it Was Green
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Episode: S8 E7 | 9:07
Watch • 9:35
Eons
How Chewing May Have Beat Extinction
Tiny mammals and a group of lizard-like reptiles shared a trait that helped them survive extinction.
Episode: S8 E6 | 9:35
Watch • 10:43
Eons
How We Figured Out an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs
Where the space rock came from 66 million years ago that crashed and killed the dinosaurs.
Episode: S8 E5 | 10:43
Watch • 8:19
Eons
Crawling Out Of The Water Was An Evolutionary Accident
Fish evolved terrestrial traits to...stay fish?
Episode: S8 E4 | 8:19
Watch • 12:07
Eons
Do Chins Make Us Human?
We're the only ones with chins, and we don't know why.
Episode: S8 E3 | 12:07
Watch • 12:40
Eons
The Golden Age of Sharks
Why did sharks get so incredibly diverse and odd during the Golden Age?
Episode: S8 E2 | 12:40
Watch • 10:45
Eons
That Time Earth was Sticky
What exactly made this time period so very, very sticky?
Episode: E1 | 10:45
Watch • 12:12
Eons
Darwin's Unexpected Final Obsession
What was Charles Darwin really obsessed with?
Episode: S7 E21 | 12:12
Watch • 12:29
Eons
Are All Oceans Basically Reincarnated?
Did you know ocean basins are reincarnated?
Episode: S7 E20 | 12:29