clipped from: www.abc.net.au   
Anna Salleh

The hobbit is a modern human affected by iodine deficiency in the womb, say Australian researchers, inflaming debate once again about the origins of the creature.

hobbit skull
A model of the hobbit skull. Is this a new species or a modern human that had a nutrient deficient deficiency in the womb?

Dr Peter Obendorf of RMIT University in Melbourne and colleagues report their findings today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

"What we can see is consistent with cretinism," says Obendorf, who studies the nutrition and health of human societies through the ages.
Compared to the other theory, that it's
a new species, it really does look a better explanation."

A lack of iodine in combination with other environmental factors can destroy the thyroid gland of a child in the womb and cause greatly reduced bone growth and a reduced brain size.

the characteristic features of such 'dwarf cretins' appear to be present in the hobbit fossil, which has been named a new species Homo floresiensis.