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The footprints show two types of ancient human relatives sharing the same place at the same time

Summary

  • Ancient footprints found in Kenya belong to two different types of human relatives who moved in the same area at the same time, research has found.

  • The drawings are thought to be of the species Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei.

  • The discovery raises questions about what kind of relationship and interaction the two species had.

A newly discovered set of footprints in Kenya provides the first evidence that two different types of ancient human relatives walked the same area at the same time 1.5 million years ago.

Researchers after finding that the footprints belong to the species Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei and were left within hours or days of each other – which opens up new mysteries about what happened when these two paths crossed.

According to a study on the discovery, published Thursday in the journal Science, the footprints were deposited in dry mud near a lake in northern Kenya and buried in a popular fossil site. By analyzing the print conditions and strike patterns, the researchers found that the two sets were different; The best explanation, they concluded, was that two different species left tracks.

This research adds to the growing understanding among anthropologists and paleontologists that ancient human relatives likely interacted and coexisted. And, by extension, it raises questions about what kind of relationship the species had.

“We think that these people, these two species of animals that were there, probably did not know that there were other species of animals nearby. “They would have seen each other and seen each other as different species, which raises questions about what that interaction would have been like,” said Kevin Hatala, professor of biology at Chatham University and lead author of the study. “Were they competing? Were they okay when each other was around?”

Although the fossils of Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei found previously indicated that both species lived in the region at some point, the new findings provide evidence of direct overlap.

Members of the research team dig to reveal the footprints.

It also shows that these two species walked on two feet in very different ways.

Although both are related to humans, Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei showed very different characteristics, and their fate in the human evolutionary tree took very different paths.

Homo erectus had a human form from the neck down. The species used stone tools and may have cooked over fire. Its members had a variety of foods that may have included meat. This species eventually spread to Asia, Indonesia and other regions, and lived for more than 1 million years after the newly discovered footprints were made. Homo erectus was last seen in the fossil record more than 100,000 years ago.

“Many people were telling themselves that they are good people like our ancestor should be,” said Hatala. “They seem to be the most successful species.”

Paranthropus boisei, on the other hand, featured a smaller brain, larger chewing muscles and larger molar teeth. William Harcourt-Smith, an associate professor of anthropology at Lehman College who was not involved in the research, said the species evolved to eat challenging foods like hard nuts or digest tough, low-quality food like shrubby plants.

These species did not live on Earth as long as Homo erectus.

“It’s thought to be not long after this, within the next few thousand years,” Hatala said, speaking during the steps. He added that no one knows for sure what happened, but it is possible that changes in the environment limited their special diet.

An aerial photograph of the excavated area of ​​the track, with members of the survey team near its perimeter. Annotated arrows indicate approximate footpaths and are directed in the direction of travel - there is a very long (12 foot) footpath, then three separate footpaths, directed almost perpendicularly to the main railway line. (Louise N. Leakey / Turkana Basin Institute / Stony Brook University)

Annotated aerial photograph of the excavated area containing footprints, with members of the research team near the perimeter.

The clues were first discovered in 2021 at a site called Koobi Fora, when researchers were excavating other fossils. The area is a hot spot for fossils because heaving rocks expose old layers of soil on top, allowing researchers to reach the bones of ancient humans and other animals.

The following year, researchers unearthed a set of about 12 footprints that appeared to be moving in a line, and found another set of footprints moving perpendicularly.

“We think that these footprints were made in the mud in this area on the shore of the lake. Something happened that brought the soil over it. “It can be small floods or the height of water that fills the soil and buries the tracks after they are formed,” said Hatala.

The mud inscriptions were not trampled on by other animals and showed no signs of cracking before being buried in the sand. Researchers say that means they are left alone for hours or days.

“The sediment protected them and prevented them from breaking apart and allowed them to be included in the geologic record,” Hatala said.

He and his co-authors hypothesized that the two species were able to coexist in the area because their diets were so different. They may also compete for resources and have antagonistic relationships. These species appear to have lived in the same area for hundreds of thousands of years.

Harcourt-Smith, who works as a research associate in paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, said the researchers’ analysis also felt that the site was unique.

“I want to emphasize how rare it is to have a site like this, how special it is and how many opportunities we have to find more,” he said.

Broadly speaking, Harcourt-Smith added, it is becoming increasingly clear that different ancient human species interacted in different environments over the past 7 million years of evolution. The evolutionary path to modern humans is full of side branches with species like Paranthropus boisei, representing the end of evolution.

“Human evolution is complex and messy and has many experiments. It’s not a straight line,” he said.

In the past few decades, scientists have developed genetic and archaeological evidence that shows that humans, Denisovans and Neanderthals overlapped and sometimes interbred. The new study doesn’t talk about inbreeding, but it shows more clearly that even older species have overlapped and interacted more than previously understood.

After the researchers finished their work at the Koobi Fora site, photographing and documenting the footprints in several ways, they left them for future generations, said Craig Feibel, a co-author of the study.

“They must bury it carefully with soil that will not damage the footprints so that it will not be eroded,” he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com


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