Quote Originally Posted by Palanan View Post
Was there ever any hint of this in the books?
I don't recall there being any hint of the origins of Hobbits in any of Tolkien's works, TBH, because they were essentially created by him to entertain his children and didn't really fit in with the wider legendarium. As far as the story is concerned they might as well have sprung full-formed from the earth shortly before Smeagol and Deagol had their little ring-related argument.