Gone underground: Scientists have confirmed the legend of an unknown race of dwarfs

 Archaeologists have confirmed one of the legends of Taiwan: the island was once inhabited by undersized dark-skinned people. Scientists note that traces of such peoples can be found everywhere – from Siberia to the British Isles.

From generation to generation in Taiwan, the legend of short people with dark skin was passed on. Its representatives lived high in the mountains, spoke in an incomprehensible language, and then strangely disappeared.

Until now, there has been no material evidence of the myth. In addition, scientists strongly doubted that black people could ever live on the island. Traditionally, the aborigines of Taiwan, the Austronesians, were thought to have come from China. They moved to new territories about five thousand years ago, and then settled throughout Oceania.

However, this year a joint expedition of archaeologists from Australia, Vietnam and Japan discovered an unusual female burial in the Xiaoma cave complex on the east coast of the island. The deceased was buried in a sitting position with her knees pressed tightly to her head – a method uncharacteristic for the region.

The results of radiocarbon analysis showed that the deceased was approximately six thousand years old. But much more scientists were surprised by its size.

“The length of the femurs was 35 centimeters. The skull was much smaller than usual. Based on these proportions, anthropologists came to the conclusion that the woman’s height did not exceed 140 centimeters ,” said expedition leader Mike Carson, professor at the University of Guam....<<<Read More>>>...