Vaggos
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The oldest footprints made by pre-humans are more than six million years old, scientists have revealed.
Around 50 of the track marks were identified near the village of Trachilos on the western edge of the Greek island of Crete back in 2002.
They were found in a type of sedimentary rock that formed at the shore of the ancient Mediterranean Sea.
Now, dating techniques have now shown them to be 6.05 million years old, making them the oldest direct evidence of a human-like foot used for walking.
While it remains unclear which species left them, the prints have a distinctly human-like form, with a similar big toe to our own and a 'ball' in the sole that's not found in apes.
One of the around 50 Trachilos footprints. The prints were found in a type of sedimentary rock that formed when the Mediterranean Sea briefly dried out
Photograph of two prints, published in the 2017 paper, 'possibly representing a static stance of one individual'
Six million years ago, Crete was still attached to the Greek mainland, meaning early hominins could have lived across southeast Europe as well as Africa.
The 'Trachilos footprints' are almost 2.5 million years older than the tracks attributed to an ancient pre-human species called Australopithecus afarensis, from Laetoli in Tanzania, Africa. A. afarensis is the species to which the famous early human ancestor 'Lucy' belongs.
The shape of the Trachilos prints indicates that they belong to an early hominin, somewhat more primitive than A. afarensis.
They were made on a sandy seashore, possibly a small river delta, whereas the Laetoli tracks were made in volcanic ash.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...ntify-oldest-footprints-pre-humans-Crete.html
Around 50 of the track marks were identified near the village of Trachilos on the western edge of the Greek island of Crete back in 2002.
They were found in a type of sedimentary rock that formed at the shore of the ancient Mediterranean Sea.
Now, dating techniques have now shown them to be 6.05 million years old, making them the oldest direct evidence of a human-like foot used for walking.
While it remains unclear which species left them, the prints have a distinctly human-like form, with a similar big toe to our own and a 'ball' in the sole that's not found in apes.
One of the around 50 Trachilos footprints. The prints were found in a type of sedimentary rock that formed when the Mediterranean Sea briefly dried out
Photograph of two prints, published in the 2017 paper, 'possibly representing a static stance of one individual'
Six million years ago, Crete was still attached to the Greek mainland, meaning early hominins could have lived across southeast Europe as well as Africa.
The 'Trachilos footprints' are almost 2.5 million years older than the tracks attributed to an ancient pre-human species called Australopithecus afarensis, from Laetoli in Tanzania, Africa. A. afarensis is the species to which the famous early human ancestor 'Lucy' belongs.
The shape of the Trachilos prints indicates that they belong to an early hominin, somewhat more primitive than A. afarensis.
They were made on a sandy seashore, possibly a small river delta, whereas the Laetoli tracks were made in volcanic ash.
