Africa’s biggest collection of ancient human footprints discovered

15 May 2020

Africa’s biggest collection of ancient human footprints discovered

Africa’s biggest collection of ancient human footprints discoveredHow long can a footprint last?

Recently, researchers have discovered 408 footprints left behind by ancient humans in northern  Tanzania, Africa. They were made between 5,760 and 19,100 years ago!

This discovery is also the largest collection of fossilized footprints found in Africa up to now.
 	Researchers compared the ancient footprints to footprints made by living humans to find out if they were made by men or women, old or young people.
 	They belonged to 14 adult females, 2 adult males and 1 teen male.
 	The 408 footprints formed 17 different tracks. They were all made moving at the same walking speed in a southwesterly direction.

Such footprints shed light on human behaviour and activity. They help us find out about the number of people, where they were going and if they were in large groups.

The large number of footprints belonging to females indicate that the group would have been out to gather food.

How do such ancient footprints still exist?

These footprints still exist because they were made in a volcanic mudflow. This mudflow dried up and became hard, preserving the footprint (similar to when you put your footprint on wet cement and it dries up).
 	Additionally, the footprints were buried under layers of soil, which protected them from wind and rain.

The area in northern Tanzania, where these footprints were found is also near to where scientists discovered the first-ever human footprints years ago.

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How long can a footprint last? Recently, researchers have discovered 408 footprints left behind by ancient humans in northern Tanzania, Africa. They were made between […]

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