Beijing time:2021-12-03 08:31
[NTD News December 03, 2021]A new study found that what was originally thought to be the mysterious footprints of ancient bears millions of years ago may actually be left by humans.
A study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday (1st) showed that the footprints found in a place called Laetoli Site A in Tanzania in 1976 may belong to an unknown early human. This discovery may be rewritten Human history.
It was previously believed by the scientific community that this set of footprints was left by an ancient bear walking upright on its hind legs about 3.66 million years ago.
The footprints found at G at Laetol site are generally considered to belong to Australopithecus afarensis, which belongs to the same race as the famous skeleton “Lucy”.
Given that the footprints of Laetoli site A are very different from those left by Australopithecus afarensis, it is not clear what kind of early humans left these footprints found in 1976.
In 2019, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor at Ohio University (Ellison McNutt) and her colleagues re-excavated these unusually shaped footprints and combined them with those left by bears, chimpanzees, and humans. The imprints were compared.
By measuring, photographing and 3D scanning these footprints, the researchers found that their heels and big toes are more prominent, both of which are in line with human characteristics.
The researchers also conducted a video analysis of the behavior of wild American black bears and found that the species hardly walks on its hind legs alone. At the same time, the footprint of Laetoli site A presents a special cross-stepping. (Click here for pictures of cross steps.）
Jeremy DeSilva, associate professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, said bears cannot walk in a pattern similar to the footprints of A. De Silva said: “We need to find fossils to learn more about that human appearance.” He added that the size of the feet indicated that this person was only 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall.
McNatt said that the strange crossing steps may suggest that he was walking on dangerous terrain.
“These footprints have been mysterious for 40 years,” said Rick Potts, head of the Human Origins Project at the Smithsonian Institution.
(Comprehensive report by reporter Li Zhaoxi/Editor in charge: Zhang Jie)
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