It was a discovery that excited scientists and JRR Tolkien fans alike. When the skull of a tiny human-like creature was unearthed in Flores, Indonesia, in 2003, it was seen by many as evidence that an unknown humanoid species had once lived in the rainforests.
But now scientists from Roehampton University have debunked the myth of the living hobbit, claiming he was merely a human with a small head.
Dr Robert Martin and Dr Ann M. Maclarnon of the School of Human and Life Sciences at Roehampton led the team of scientists, which concluded the 18,000-year-old remains display the symptoms of microcephaly - a condition which leaves its human sufferers with an undersize skull.
Their findings will be published in scientists' forum the Anatomical Record in November.
Dr Martin blamed over-active imaginations for the hobbit theory. "It's no accident this supposedly new species of hominid was dubbed the Hobbit. It is simply fanciful to imagine this fossil represents anything other than a modern human."
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As well as analysing the size of the skull, scientists also examined its teeth and primitive tools found nearby, deciding that both of these indicated the humanoid was in fact just plain human.
The debunking of the hobbit theory will disappoint many. But for Dr Martin, the findings do offer a valuable moral for the scientific community: "Science needs more balance and less acrimony as we continue to unravel this discovery," he said.
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