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Showing posts from March 8, 2008

Tiny People Found in Indonesia Deemed to be Human Dwarfs

Anthropologist argue over finding dwarf humans in Indonesia. According to some, these people were small because of mineral deficiency. They are believed to be cretin offspring of normal mothers who did not have enough iodine and selenium in their diet. Cretinism is a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth due to a congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones; they do not have thyroid glands. The Indonesian group lived inland where they could not eat sea food, a natural source of iron. Mothers probably ate bamboo shoots and tubers which could have released cyanide into their bodies. When the people were found they were estimated to be three-feet tall and had brains roughly the size of grapefruits. They were classified as a new species of human, "Homo floresciensis". The new idea is just that - an idea. This does not prove that they are a not a new species of man. Humans living inland in other parts of the world did not suffer from iron and selenium deficiency.