Around 1.5 million years ago, early members of our species walked along the muddy shore of a lake in Africa, just hours apart from another hominin species, possibly Paranthropus. This extraordinary discovery suggests that different species of human ancestors shared the same landscape.
A recent study published in Science analyzes a series of ancient footprints that intertwine, indicating the simultaneous presence of Homo species and another hominin with smaller brains and larger jaws. This evidence offers some of the most compelling proof to date of their coexistence.
A Glimpse Into the Past
The footprints were first uncovered in 2021 by Richard Loki, a field and lab assistant at the Turkana Basin Institute, alongside other researchers. They were excavating hominin fossils near Kenya’s Lake Turkana, in the renowned Koobi Fora region. According to Louise Leakey, a paleoanthropologist from Stony Brook University and director of the Koobi Fora Research Project, the prints were exceptionally well-preserved.
“You can see the toes pressing into the mud, as though they were left just yesterday,” says Leakey, whose family has led fossil discoveries in the region for over 50 years, identifying species dating from 4.2 million to 1.4 million years ago.
To preserve the footprints, the team carefully reburied them before inviting further examination. In 2022, paleoanthropologists Kevin Hatala from Chatham University and Neil Roach from Harvard University conducted a detailed analysis.
Insights from Footprints
Jeremy DeSilva, a paleoanthropologist at Dartmouth College, notes that the footprints offer valuable insights into the locomotion of Paranthropus. The distinctive stride suggests new clues about their height, hip structure, and knee alignment. Studying these footprints could also shed light on how Homo and Paranthropus coexisted in the same environment.
“Today, only one species of humans remains,” says DeSilva. “But we now have evidence that two distinct species shared the landscape, likely observing each other. Did they interact? What did they think of each other? Imagining their perspectives is fascinating.”
Reference:
- Science Journal. For more information, visit the official publication: Ancient Footprints Reveal Coexistence of Two Human Ancestors.
