Professor Mike Morwood, who has died aged 62, led a joint Australian- Indonesian team of archaeologists which, in 2003, uncovered what appeared to be the bones of a previously unknown species of human being on the remote Indonesian island of Flores.

Professor Morwood began his career studying Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley, which led to an interest in the Asian origins of the first people to come to Australia. In 1981 he became a lecturer at the University of New England, and in 2007 he moved to Wollongong University where he was a Professor at the School of Earth & Environmental Studies.

Homo floresiensis is a possible species, now almost certainly extinct, in the genus Homo. Its soubriquets include 'Flores man', 'Hobbit' and 'Flo'. The dates from archaeological horizons range from 94,000 to 13,000 years ago. Partial skeletons of nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete skull, in the Liang Bua Cave.

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