Footprints discovered in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, show that two species of hominids walked together 1.5 million years ago, providing a fascinating glimpse into the lives of early humans.
Recently, scientists found fossilized footprints in the Turkana Basin region that reveal two species of hominids walked simultaneously along the edge of a lake around 1.5 million years ago. This discovery, reported by Nature.com, occurred at the famous Koobi Fora site, well-known for its hominid fossils.
These footprints are particularly interesting because they suggest that species like Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei likely walked side by side. Researchers used photogrammetry technology to create 3D models of the footprints and analyze the details. They observed two different types of footprints, indicating that these two hominid groups had distinct ways of walking.
Kevin Hatala, a professor at Chatham University, explains that these footprints show these species probably lived in the same environment at the same time. This raises questions about how they may have interacted or influenced each other in their daily lives.
This discovery helps us better understand how early humans and their relatives coexisted and interacted in the same landscape millions of years ago.