User blog comment:Gott wisst/Hypothesis about why B. J. is wrong about J. R. R. Tolkien/@comment-1209332-20090423235531

Hobbits (Not necessarily under that name) have been around for centuries before Tolkein. You may know them as them as leprechauns or Faeries. Closer to Hobbit ides have been around not quite as long. Tolkein got the house designs from real natives in England, I believe.