Peer Review

Ramon Paolo T. Quintero

Title of Paper: The Peculiar Case of Homo florensiensis: Unraveling the Origins
Authors: Ayang-Ang, Cleofe Denielle P., Banta, Jyra Rancel C., Sumajit, Gianni Mari, R.

As given by the title of the research paper, its main thrust was trying to explain the
origins of an unusual species whose remains were found in the Liang Bua Cave, Flores, Eastern
Indonesia, unusual in a sense of its evolution and origins. Due to its strange morphology, small
body (approximately 1 m tall) and small cranial capacity, upon discovery, it was assigned to a
new species, known as Homo florensiensis. The paper presents first the geography of the
location, which includes its location relative to other sites. Afterwards, the discovery of the site
in 1950 and of the fossil in 2003 was described, with an actual description of the discoverer
(Brown, et al.) of the peculiar fossil. Then, various hypotheses on the origins of Homo
florensiensis were presented, such as insular dwarfism, microcephaly, ME hypothyroidism and
the Laron syndrome. Each hypothesis was discussed briefly, accompanied by citations from
various studies trying to confirm or debunk those theories. The paper ends with the presentation
of archaeological evidences found in the same island.
First and foremost, the title of the research paper is quite engaging for me, as it
encompasses what the paper is all about. The resources were plentiful, and it does not seem that
the reader is rationed with references, making the paper convincing for the reader. I also liked
how the paper gave first a background on the geography of the site, as well as the discovery of
the fossil find and the site, itself. I also liked how they used different resources for each
hypothesis. With that, the theories were seen in different perspectives, ie. Why the hypothesis is
possible or not?
However, my main concern for the paper is the complexity of some terms. I was told that
in writing research papers, the authors must take into account the readers. They must write the
paper in a way that even people with no background on the topic will still be able to understand
it. I had difficulty in understanding some of the points made in the paper due to the complexity
of terms. Its alright to use complex terms, as long as the writers define them well. Also, the
structure of the paper is not very well-defined and the flow of ideas is for me, incoherent. An
example would be the last part, where various archaeological finds in the site were mentioned. It
left me hanging, trying to figure out its significance on the entirety of the paper.
Despite some minor setbacks, I was still impressed with the research paper, considering
that its just the first draft. Here are some of my suggestions. First, fix the last part. Discuss the
significance of the archaeological finds on the point the writers are making. In that way, the
ending will not leave the readers hanging. Also, try to include an introduction and a conclusion.
If there is already an introduction and a conclusion, make the boundaries between these parts of
the paper clearer. Lastly, try to simplify the writing of the paper as much as possible, and never
fail to define/explain the more uncommon terms in your paper, so that the reader will not be lost
while reading your work.