Historically Interesting

University of Adelaide professor of biological anthropology and comparative anatomy Maciej Henneberg says in his new book, The Hobbit Trap, that a lower left molar had a filling, a claim that threatens to blow out of the water conjecture by the fossil’s describers that the Hobbit is 18,000 years old. “What I can see on the … surface of the (tooth) is incredible,” Professor Henneberg writes. Part of the tooth surface is “occupied by a white matt substance of a colour slightly lighter than (the) enamel”. “I have a hypothetical explanation for this unusual occlusal morphology of lower left M1: a filling,” Professor Henneberg says. University of New England archeologist Mike Morwood, announcing the discovery in October 2004, said the Hobbit was 1.06m tall, weighed about 25kg and had a brain the size of a chimpanzee’s. Professor Henneberg and others have already aired doubts about the claims of Peter Brown, also of UNE, who described the fossil for science and declared it a new species, Homo floresiensis. They said the fossil was merely a modern human, an Australoid Melanesian with the genetic disease cretinism. Professor Brown said Professor Henneberg’s claim was “complete lunacy”. “There is no factual support,” Professor Brown said. “The molar tooth has no evidence of dental work of any sort and this can be demonstrated by examination of the tooth … with photographic evidence, X-rays, CT scans.” Professor Brown accused his rival of seeking attention. “What is annoying as a scientist is that this hasn’t been through scientific peer review and (yet) it’s appearing in a popular book,” he said. Asked how such an anomaly as a filled tooth could escape the attention of the fossil’s discoverers, Professor Henneberg said it was understandable that in the excitement of discovery “it is easy not to notice irregularity of one tooth’s surface. link

Palanpur (Gujarat): The Palaviya Jain temple in the walled city here is witnessing an unusual rush of devotees - and art lovers - to catch a glimpse of 35 ancient idols recovered last week during the temple’s reconstruction.

The idols, said to have been crafted during the 14th century, are of the Jain deities Parshavnath, Adinath, Devendranath and other Tirthankars.

Vikram Samwat 1310,1320,1330,1335 and 1340 are the inscriptions on these idols, clearly etching the years according to the Hindu calendar when they were made.

Sailesh Mehta, Trustee and in-charge of the temple’s reconstruction work, told IANS that some idols are of marble and black stone while a few are cast in metal. “The digging would be limited to the foundation work,” he added.

The idols offer a fascinating peep into the cultural history of ancient Gujarat.

“Since the idols are similar to those in Patan and Siddhpur Jain temples of Gujarat and those of Delwara temple in Mount Abu, there must have been close links between the artisans in Patan, Siddhpur and Delwara. These idols created by artisans of the 14th century are indeed amazing,” said Mukund Brahma Kshatriya, a scholar.

Yaswant Rawal, a researcher of cultural history of north Gujarat, said that the site from where the idols were recovered was once under dense forest cover before it became a part of the expanded town. The place formed part of King Dharavarsha Parmar’s kingdom of Chadaravti extending up to Mount Abu. The king and his younger brother Chandra Singh Parmar embraced Jainism.

“The dexterity in carving these stone idols is amazing. Artisans would have tested the quality of the stone before bringing out the life-like images,” said idol maker Jingoish Sompura.

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