I find it more likely that tales of "little people" would be due to imagination (or psychosis) then to actual handing donw of tales for 18000 years.

On the other hand - What was that fish that was only known through fossils (considerably older then 18000 years if I recall) until one was caught - live?

So it is possible that the hominids were around into historical times.

Recently they discoved that remnant populations of Mammoth lasted into *nearly* historically recorded times on some island -