Overview
- Researchers report in Communications Earth & Environment that a severe summer drying on Flores between roughly 61,000 and 55,000 years ago coincides with the decline of Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua.
- The team reconstructed rainfall using Mg/Ca ratios and oxygen isotopes from a stalagmite in nearby Liang Luar, revealing a long drying trend after 76,000 years ago and summers at about half of modern rainfall by ~61,000 years ago.
- Isotopic data from Stegodon tooth enamel match the hydrological record, indicating reliance on shrinking river water and a local disappearance of these key prey around ~57,000 years ago.
- The Liang Bua archaeological record for H. floresiensis ends around ~50,000 years ago, with the final horizons capped by a volcanic ash layer of similar age that may represent an added stressor.
- Scientists note Homo sapiens were moving through the region at the time, raising the possibility of later contact, but they emphasize drought‑driven loss of freshwater and food as the most compelling explanation for the cave’s abandonment.