1.5 million-year-old footprints pose new enigma in human history

You should be wary of walking along the water's edge. Many years later, they can betray your presence. 1.5 million years ago, an individual walked on the banks of a lake, at Koobi Fora, in what is now Kenya. His feet dug imprints in the muddy ground, which were covered with dry sand. Frozen and fossilized for eternity, these few steps were brought to light in 2021 by a team led by Kevin Hatala, paleoanthropologist at Chatham University in Pittsburgh (United States).

Analysis of these traces reveals that this walker was not alone, because other footprints accompanied him. They also have a human appearance. But they belong to representatives of another group. A discovery which directly confirms the cohabitation of several species of bipedal hominins (the ancestors of humans and their close cousins ​​since the separation with the chimpanzee) 1.5 million years ago in East Africa (Science, 28 November 2024).

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