**The discovery ofHomo floresiensis: Tales of the hobbit**

Callaway, Ewen

Ewen joined Nature in August 2010, after 2 years at New Scientist as Boston-based biomedical reporter. He attended the science-writing programme at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned a master's degree in microbiology at the University of Washington. He spends his free time learning to bicycle on the left side of the road.

See Comment page 427

Nature 514(7523):p 422-426, October 23, 2014. | DOI: 10.1038/514422a

In 2004, researchers announced the discovery ofHomo floresiensis, a small relative of modern humans that lived as recently as 18,000 years ago. The ‘hobbit' is now considered the most important hominin fossil in a generation. Here, the scientists behind the find tell its story.