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Originally Posted by Himilsillion
I think that hobbits were once men living in Rhovanion but they evolved into a smaller sub-species of men because they would be easer for them to hide from the easternlings.
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Himilsillion, I agree with you that Hobbits are presented as a branch of the race of Men. But I would question whether evolution has any place in Tolkien's Legendarium.
Here's some other threads where these issues are discussed:
the origin of hobbits
Where do Hobbits come from
The question of whether Hobbits evolved from Men is discussed in the second of those threads. My own view remains as stated in that thread:
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Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man
Despite being an evolutionist in terms of our own development, I see little scope for evolution in Middle-earth. We know from the Silmarillion that Men and Elves awoke in much the same form as they appear in LotR. As I have posted elsewhere on a similar thread, I just don't see any scope for the evolution of 6 foot plus Men into 3 to 4 foot Hobbits, with the addition of hairy feet, in the time between Men awakening and the first appearance of Hobbits.
No, a branch of Mankind they may be, but I believe that Hobbits awaoke just as we see them in the Hobbit and LotR.
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Unless we are to treat the story of creation in the Silmarillion in the same way that adherents to the theories of evolution and intelligent design treat the Book of Genesis in the Bible, it seems to me that there is little scope for the operation of evolution in Middle-earth.