<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pile o' Bones
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Re: origin of hobbits
Posh. How can a discussion of genetics and Darwinism (even an articulate one) enter into a discussion of Middle Earth? Fiddle-faddle. Besides, how do you account for the hairy, leathery-soled feet and the beardlessness? What would you call a hobbit-human offspring? A three-quarterling? Confusticate and bebother genetics.
Nevertheless, Tolkien has left us in the lurch here. My own two cents is that hobbits do have a distinct origin, but that it is regrettably lost somewhere back in the Mists of Time. The Prologue seems to back me up on this: "The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten. Only the Elves still preserve any records of that vanished time, and their traditions are concerned almost entirely with their own history, in which Men appear seldom and Hobbits are not mentioned at all. Yet it is clear that Hobbits had, in fact, lived quietly in Middle-earth for many long years before other folk even became aware of them."
I glean two important points from this passage: (1) there seems to be an implication that Hobbits did have a distinct origin, but that it is lost to us, and (2) that Hobbits were around for many years before the other peoples even knew they were there. A third, less convincing point, given the earlier post re: the length of an Age, is that if Hobbits have been around since the Elder Days, the window of possible evolution is cut considerably shorter.
Other passages hint at a distinct heritage before other folk were encountered -- the prologue tells us that prior to their meeting of Elves and Men, Hobbits spoke their own language, but after the meeting took up the Common Speech and writing and saved only a few of their old words and family names from their discarded tongue.
None of this tells us where Hobbits came from, but I like to think they are the result of a subtle, quiet, but gently rising theme in the music of the Ainur. Perhaps further investigation and inquiry will reveal a more practical answer.
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