On this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matt Tocheri to discuss The Cannibal in the Jungle (2015), an Animal Planet mockumentary which blurs the line between fact and fiction. The (fictional) story centres around a team of ornithologists who were attacked by a group of Homo floresiensis (the so-called “hobbits”), which happen to be Matt’s area of expertise. We discuss hominin evolution, biogeography, and the boundaries between entertainment and misinformation.
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In this episode:
Watch the director’s cut here: https://www.simongeorgedirector.com/amerikan-kanibal
Homo Floresiensis and the myth of the ebu gogo: https://aeon.co/ideas/investigating-homo-floresiensis-and-the-myth-of-the-ebu-gogo
Between Ape and Human: An Anthropologist on the Trail of a Hidden Hominoid By Gregory Forth: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Between-Ape-and-Human/Gregory-Forth/9781639361434
Ghostwatch (1992) BBC Halloween special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQfMTktMZLQ
Wolf Creek (2005): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/
The Flores Scops Owl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flores_scops_owl
What is the Wallace Line? https://www.thoughtco.com/the-wallace-line-1224711
Evans et al. (2020). Mitogenomics of macaques (Macaca) across Wallace’s Line in the context of modern human dispersals. Journal of Human Evolution, 146, 102852: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102852
Teixeira et al. (2021). Widespread Denisovan ancestry in Island Southeast Asia but no evidence of substantial super-archaic hominin admixture. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5 (5), 616-624: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01408-0
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