Who were the hobbits?

Hobbits are an early type of human species, whose fossils were recovered in Indonesia, on a archaeological site called Liang Bua, in the year 2003. The scientists named those tiny human ancestors, who were no taller then a 4-year-old child, Homo Floriensis, but because of their small size, they are widely called "hobbits". There are many theories about these strange humans. Some scientists believed that they were just a dwarfed size of modern human beings, who suffered from a disease called microcephary, which causes the brain and the head size to diminish. However, careful studies, and scans of the skull showed no sign of illness whatsoever. Another theory is that the hobbits evoloved from the Homo Erectus, but that they were affected by island dwarfism. That is an evolutionary process, that happened to a lot of living things on islands back then, because of the lack of resources.
A stunning thing about hobbits is that they had very small brains, the size of the austrlopithicus aferensis Lucy, but they created magnificent, complex tools. Some of those tools were implements fro digging and butchering their prey and stone points to  fix wooden spears.
The skeleton of a hobit that was found had a chin and cheeks that stuck out, and the wrists were more arranged like an ape's then a human's. This hobbit also had long and flat feet, and it was 4 times stronger then an average human today! Most scientists believe that the hobbits lived from 38,000 to 18,000 years ago. Some also believe that they were alive even 12, 000 years ago!
This species of our ancestors is very new to us, and there are a lot of things that we do not know about them. To find out more, we need more then just one hobbit skeleton...

Why were tool-making and language important for the development of human culture?

Both tools and language were very important for our survival, as well as the development of our culture. Tools enabled humans to hunt animals. Those animals served as food, and sometimes their hides were used for creating shelters and, later on, clothing. This shows a small part of our culture. What we eat and drink today depends on which part of the world we come from, how financially stable we are, what religion we follow, etc. Back then, the humans' diet depended on which part of the world they lived in, and what kind of hunting tools they were able to make. Human culture started developing even three million years ago! Tools were also used for making fire. With fire, early humans could stay up later at night, and socialize with friends and family. This started oral tradition another very important part of our culture. Oral tradition tells us about the hopes, dreams, ideas and opinions of the people who lived long ago. Fire also enabled the early humans to migrate to colder areas, and spread around the world. Language has helped early humans a lot. More complex words, and short sentences gave them the opportunity to discuss hunting techniques, and improve their tool-making. With language oral tradition started, and, over time, with the humans' brains evolving and becoming more developed, humans started telling more detailed stories of their beliefs and lifestyle. Language also enabled humans to do many other things. They could choose leaders, to make changes and lead the people in their communities. They could also discuss their religion, and what they believed in. Early humans could also talk about what they hoped to achieve in the future, and how they planned to survive.
However, our human culture took a lot of time to develop. The first humans who roamed the Earth were the Australopithecines. The didn't make a lot of tools, but they made some basic ones. The Homo Habilis made tools out of stone, that they used for hunting. Those tools were simple, but they did require quite a lot of skill and strategical thinking. One example of the tools they made are the stone flints. Our next ancestor is the Homo Erectus, an early human who made more complex tools. They made hand axes, that helped them with hunting bigger animals. They created those axes by strking one piece of stone with another, and shaping it. This was really hard, because they had to fiind just the right kind of stone. It had to be hard enough not to break, but not really hard, otherwise it wouldn't be able to be chipped and correctly shaped. The next ancestor of ours was the Homo Heidelbergensis, which was first discovered in Germany. The "Heidi" people, as they are sometimes called, were hunter-gatherers, which means that they collected wild plants and hunted wild animals. They also lived in small communities, and they migrated a lot, following their food., and searching for ripe plants. There is evidence that the "Heidi" people used traps, to catch some of the bigger prey. This required organization skills and some type of language, which made those early humans stand out compared to all the other animals. Next is the neanderthal, an early human looked very much like us, and had a brain size almost the same size as our own. The neanderthals were community builders. They have developed many things, and contributed to the human culture in many ways. Firstly, they invented burials. They believed in some kind of afterlife, just like we do today. Neanderthals also had some very complex tools, such as the slide scrapers, many flints, detailed big axes, etc. Neanderthals were the first ones to use art. They used colors to decorate their bodies. And, finally, we come to the Homo Sapiens, or the wise human. The Cro-Magnons, very early Homo Sapiens, lived around 50,000 years ago, and are named after a cave in France, changed the human culture forever. They started making astounding cave art, sculptures, and clothing. That SURELY required language. They also had more complex burials, and amazing tools such as nets for fishing, spear throwers for launching spears, and bows and arrows.
Our culture has come a long way since the early Australopithecines. We have advanced both physically and mentally, and tools and language really helped us achieve that. Without the ability to use those two things, we would be no different from other animals.

Why did early humans begin to walk on two feet?

Over time, people have asked this question many times, and a lot of anthropologists, and archaelogists have different ideas, and opinions about how we evoloved into bipedals.
The first theory is that environmental changes that occured on our planet, caused the early humans to develop certain adaptations, including walking on two feet. One of these changes is forests turning into savannas and dry grasslands. Long ago, Africa was completely covered in forests. However, it kept becoming dryer and dryer, and evntually those forests turned into dry grasslands. The animals that the early humans hunted didn't have enough food in the savannas, so they migrated to other areas. Humans didn't have any other food, so they followed the animals. However, walking on all-fours was not that efficient, so eventually, humans started walking on two feet, because, that way, they could travel further distances, they could go faster, and this way of walking didn't require as much energy. One of the other reasons early humans had to adapt to environmental changes, is so that they could see over the very tall savanna grass. Back then, humans were very short,and if they walked on all-fours they wouldn't see anything in front of them, except the grass. So, they decided to stand up, and find an easier of way of following their food. 
The next theory is that homonids started eating different foods, and therefore needed different adaptations. Some anthropologists suggest that early homonids needed to stand up on two feet to hunt animals, as well as pick up fruits from very high trees.
One of the thoeries that was first thought of by C.Owen Lovejoy, was that walking on two feet helped early hominids find mates. He thinks that male homonids started walking on two feet, so that they could gather food, and therefore attract other female homonids. When males walked on two feet, they could carry more tools, and gather much bigger amounts of food. Also, walking on two feet could have been very good for the males who engaged in social displays.
Overall, no one will ever know for sure how we became bipedals. There will always be more theories and more ways of thinking about how we came to stand upright, today.

How does the use of fire demonstrate prehistoric people's ability to adapt to their environment?

The fire shows a lot about how ancient people adapted to their environment, and how they try to fit in with their habitat, and the abiotic and biotic factors surrounding them. Ancient people realized that fire could provide them with heat, and that it can keep them warm during the cold weather. They have realized that fire can help them adapt to other, colder places, such as Europe and Asia. They realized that fire can ensure the survival of their species. They also found out that with fire they can cook food. Cooked food can help them stop ilnesses and food poisoning, because it kills the bacteria and germs. The cooked food tasted better and is more easily digested, as well. This shows that they adapted to their environment, because they have used the souces that they have the best possible way. They hunted the animals around them, and then cooked them by using fire that they have created by using natural resources surrounding their habitat. Ancient people also knew that the sun sets, and that night exists. They have tried to find a way to conquer this, and be able to stay up, and see around without the sunlight. Fire helped them acomplish this, and it also helped them start oral tradition, because, at night, the ancient people would gather around the fire, and socialize with their friends and family.