Discovery of fossilized footprints reveals the moment two ancient human species crossed paths

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-12-03 01:54:16 | Updated at 2024-12-04 08:44:51 1 day ago

Discovery of fossilized footprints reveals the moment two ancient human species crossed paths
CNN ^ | November 28, 2024 | Katie Hunt

Posted on 12/02/2024 5:44:42 PM PST by SunkenCiv

More than 1.5 million years ago, two different species of ancient human crossed paths on a lakeshore, perhaps locking eyes with each other. These early forerunners of Homo sapiens wandered in a landscape teeming with wildlife, including giant maribou storks that stood 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall...

The first part of the find occurred in July 2021 during an excavation at Koobi Fora, on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya, where the skeletal remains of several ancient human relatives have been found. That excavation revealed one hominin footprint, alongside several other tracks made by large birds. The team decided to rebury the tracks with fine sand until a detailed excavation was possible...

The three other footprints perpendicular to the trackway were scattered across the site. Hatala thinks they were made by three separate individuals, their other tracks perhaps wiped out by other animals walking around the surface at the same time.

Hatala and his colleagues couldn't directly date the footprints. But Hatala said the fossils were found below — and therefore were "slightly older" than — a layer of volcanic ash on the same site known as Elomaling'a Tuff, which has been dated to 1.52 million years ago, according to the study...

The team concluded that hominins belonging to the species Homo erectus and the smaller-brained Paranthropus boisei made the footprints. P. bosei made the long trackway, while Homo erectus made the other three footprints, the study suggested. The skeletal remains of both species have been found at the site.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: footprints; godsgravesglyphs; homoerectus; paranthropusboisei

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Pictured above is a fossil footprint believed to have been created by a hominin species known as Paranthropus boisei, one of 12 such footprints unearthed in Kenya that date back 1.5 million years.Kevin G. Hatala/Chatham University

1 posted on 12/02/2024 5:44:42 PM PST by SunkenCiv

To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 12/02/2024 5:45:11 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: SunkenCiv

This was all covered in the Bible already.

3 posted on 12/02/2024 5:46:36 PM PST by Fuzz

To: Fuzz

4 posted on 12/02/2024 5:46:55 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: Fuzz

Pay no attention to the sinkhole behind the curtain.

5 posted on 12/02/2024 5:49:22 PM PST by Fungi

To: SunkenCiv

I’m thinking there’s a good possibility they may have missed each by 20inutes or so.

6 posted on 12/02/2024 5:52:41 PM PST by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)

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