BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Since the discovery of "hobbit" bones in Indonesia in 2003, scientists have disagreed over whether the discovery was an ancient human ancestor or a modern human suffering from a genetic disorder.

A recently completed study of the bones in the creature's left wrist detailed in Friday's issue of the journal Science lends credence to the human ancestor theory.

The wrist bones of the 3-foot-tall (0.91 meter) creature named Homo floresiensis are essentially indistinguishable from an African ape or early hominin-like wrist and not like that found in modern humans and Neanderthals, according to the research team led by Matthew W. Tocheri of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

That indicates that it is an early hominin and not a modern human with a physical disorder, they contend. "It seals the deal," Tocheri said in a telephone interview.

The specimen he studied lived on the Indonesian island of Flores about 18,000 years ago, a time when early modern humans populated Australia and other nearby areas.

"This is exciting and should help settle things," said Dean Falk of Florida State University. "The authors are to be congratulated, not only for describing important new details about 'Hobbit,' but for shedding light on the evolution of the wrist and how it might have related to tool production."

But others have questioned whether it was really a new species. Robert D. Martin of the Field Museum in Chicago and co-authors challenged the original classification, arguing that it appears to be a modern human suffering from microencephaly, a genetic disorder that results in small brain size and other defects.

"My take is that the brain size of (that specimen) is simply too small. That problem remains unanswered," said Martin a telephone interview. "People ask me whether this new evidence changes anything, well it doesn't. I think the evidence they've presented is fine, it's the interpretation that is problematic."

(Agencies)