However, the recent news concerning Homo floresiensis has made me change this.
According to USA Today several parts of the fossils were damaged:
![Posted by Hello](http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif)
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/26/2207/400/skull.jpg)
![Posted by Hello](http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif)
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/26/2207/400/skull%20base.jpg)
![Posted by Hello](http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif)
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/26/2207/400/bonemand.jpg)
The chin of a second hobbit jaw was snapped off, losing bone. It was glued back together misaligned and at an incorrect angle.
The chin, or mental eminence, is a shared, derived feature in Homo. Australopithicines don't have it.
![Posted by Hello](http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif)
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/26/2207/400/3-5_static.jpg)
Here is what the innominate looks like now.
![Posted by Hello](http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif)
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/26/2207/400/flores_innominate_damage1.jpg)
Paleoanthropology has a history of some political shenanigans. Donald Johanson mentions some in "Lucy:The Begginings of Humankind". There was also some nastiness with "Orrorin tugenesis". However, it has never resulted in fossils being damaged before. It sounds like the Homo floresiensis fossils were damages during two processes. 1) Attempting to make a cast of the skull so it could continue to be studied after the fossils were sent back. 2) Removing a sample for DNA analysis. We could also add 3) Inexperience with wet, fragile, fossils. Several groups in recent years have established partnerships with host countries (the group at Hadar in Ethiopia springs to mind) to create research institutions and train paleoanthropologists in the host country. Consequently, there are now quite a few Ethiopian and Kenyan paleoanthropologists. This is clearly different, however, what is really going on, it seems to me, is that Teuku Jacob was trying to preempt the discoverers analysis and gain some unwarrented credit.