Secret behind the REAL Hobbits solved as scientists crack puzzle over 3ft 'human cousins' that lived 700,000 years ago

A MAJOR mystery surrounding tiny ancient human cousins nicknamed "Hobbits" has finally been solved.

Scientists say they've cracked a main puzzle about how the 3-foot-tall species came to evolve.

Officially named Homo floresiensis , the "Hobbits" share a distant and indirect common ancestor with our own species.

They're nicknamed after the iconic miniature humanlike beings famously penned by J.R.R Tolkien in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

But unlike Tolkien's fictional Hobbits, Homo floresiensis was very much real.

"Homo floresiensis lived from about 700,000 to 60,000 years ago in the rainforests of Indonesia , partially contemporaneous with our own species," said Professor Tesla Monson, of Western Washington University.

"Aptly nicknamed Hobbits, Homo floresiensis were