Liang Bua Cave, Manggarai, Flores island
Liang Bua cave, (Hobbit Cave) Manggarai, Flores island
Located 14 km north of Ruteng, Manggarai regency, With the discovery of Liang Bua Archaeological Site, long-held scientific theories on the evolutionary past of human beings were contested: was there a land connection between mainland Asia or Australia and Flores? Was the isolated island situation responsible for the dwindling size? Did modern human beings cross with the hobbit, or did a volcano eruption bring an end to the hobbit population before modern human beings settled in Flores? Is it really a new kind of human being, or did it suffer from a disease-causing dwarfism? Father Verhoeven, a Catholic missionary of the SVD order, was the first to undertake archaeological excavation in Liang Bua. After Verhoeven, further researches by Indonesian archaeologists were undertaken, confirming the assumption of human occupation. Archaeological excavation still continues, with further discoveries of the bony remains of stegodons, varans, rats, birds, and stone artifacts. Old Manggaraian myths and tales about small people living in caves are still doing the rounds.
