Archaeologists had found a footprint of 3.7 million years old in an area of Tanzania known as the “Leatoli Road” 43 years ago. As a result of their studies in those years, experts thought that these footprints belonged to a bear. However, a new study by scientists working at Ohio University has proven that this information is not true. So much so that the footprints in question belonged to a human ancestor.
Scientists at Ohio University conducted a fairly extensive study. Comparing 5 consecutive footprints with the footprints of bears, chimpanzees, and humans, the scientists found that the bear detection was inaccurate because there was no similarity between the bears’ stepping habits and the successive tracks. In addition, there were no finds of claws in the area where the footprints were found. So the footprint in question could not have belonged to a bear.
According to the analysis, the owner of the footprint was 1 meter tall.
More than 18,000 animal traces were found on Leatoli Road. The fact that these traces were different from the others increased the curiosity of scientists. Deciding to continue their work, the experts took action to determine the type of creature with a bipedal foot. The first living species to come to mind was Australopithecus afarensis, one of the most popular primate species. However, these creatures had to be in the range of 111 to 168 centimeters in length. Calculations made on the footprint revealed that this creature was 100 centimeters long. So this creature was either a very young Australopithecus afarensis or it was of a different species.
Studies by anthropologist Ellison McNutt and colleagues revealed that the footprint belongs to an adult individual. This meant that the footprint in question did not belong to an Australopithecus afarensis. The owner of the footprint was an adult with a wide heel and a big toe that was much longer than the second toe. Scientists are now working to pinpoint this adult species. If a clear result is obtained, new information about how people walk upright can be obtained.
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