Mistakes that had been made – if that’s what they were – change the

entire interpretation of the ‘Hobbit’s’ ancestry.

These are not random errors. Put together they form a misleading

pattern removing evidence that disagrees with the ‘new species’ theory and

reported dating. For example, the upper right wisdom tooth was described

in the original scientific report as ‘missing’ instead of rotted away (its true

condition). This conceals a possibility that LB1’s dentition might show

dental caries, a very rare condition among hunter-gatherers but fairly

common among agricultural peoples. If signs of caries were found, it would

immediately cast some doubt on the age of the remains, because there was

no agricultural society on Flores more than 3,000 or 4,000 years ago.