While doing fieldwork on the Indonesian island of Flores, anthropologist Gregory Forth heard people talking about apelike human creatures that once lived in a nearby cave. Then in 2003, several skeletons of a small-statured early human species alongside stone tools were excavated in Flores. Named Homo floresiensis—sometimes called "Hobbits"— this ancient hominin was initially believed to have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. Following up on the islanders' claims to have seen them, Forth weighs the scientific possibilities and comes to a startling and controversial conclusion.