One of the larger hominin footprints (IMAGE)
Caption
One of the larger hominin footprints with a 6” ruler for scale. The tracks were made in soft mud and then filled in with sand by gentle shoreline currents, preserving the impressions.
An international team of researchers from the U.S. and Kenya analyzed a trove of fossilized footprints that were left behind by a troop of eight Paranthropus boisei hominins, first discovered nearly 50 years ago in northern Kenya by Kay Behrensmeyer, senior research geologist and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Behrensmeyer’s team initially discovered the trackway in 1978 and is studying how the local geology preserved so many ancient footprints at the site.
The team analyzed the anatomy and movement patterns of the fossil footprints and determined they were made by Paranthropus. The conclusion was surprising because the tracks were similar sizes to those left by Homo erectus, which was long thought to be significantly larger than P. boisei.
Credit
Kay Behrensmeyer, Smithsonian.
Usage Restrictions
News media use of the photos in relation to the study is only permitted with attribution.
License
Original content