Remember Homo floresiensis, the hobbit people of the island of Flores in Indonesia? Make a space next to them in your mind for the puny prehistoric people of the Pacific islands of Palau.
They lived about 2,900 years ago, much more recently than Homo floresiensis, but they were about the same size: Three to four feet tall and between 70 and 90 pounds. Unlike Homo floresiensis, the ancient Palauans had a brain case to body size ratio that was within modern parameters. Like Homo floresiensis, the Palauans of ages past had unusual characteristics such as small eyes and chins, and very large teeth.
Some experts suggest that these characteristics are the effects of the unusual nutrition imposed by island life. Of course, modern Palauans never exhibited such morphology, even before the advent of advanced technology on the islands. Maybe they were better at fishing than their predecessors.
The islands of Palau are relatively isolated, resting hundreds of miles to the east of the large island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Palau gained independence from the United States 14 years ago and is now a Republic with about 21,000 citizens. Palau is also the home of the Modekngei religion, which consists of a mix of ancient cultural beliefs from Palau with new ideas crafted in response to the introduction of Christianity.
