Hominin tracks from Laetoli Site S, test-pit M9

3D Model

Laetoli is a well-known palaeontological locality in northern Tanzania whose outstanding record includes the earliest hominin footprints in the world (3.66 million years), discovered in 1978 at Site G and attributed to Australopithecus afarensis. The paper reports hominin tracks discovered in the new Site S at Laetoli and referred to two individuals moving in the s6ame direction and on the same palaeosurface as those documented at Site G. The dimensions of the new tracks strongly suggest a body size larger than that of the Site G hominins and give stature estimates that significantly exceed the available maximum values known for Au. afarensis, being tantalizing comparable to stature averages of modern Homo sapiens. Details in the School of Paleoanthropology website.