UDSM Researchers Discover 3.66 Million Years Old Hominid Footprints Frozen in
the Ashes at Laetoli in Northern Tanzania
Summary
Laetoli hominid footprints are the most persuasive evidence of habitual bipedal
locomotion of our ancestors over three and half million years ago. Their interpretation
especially on attribution, morphology and extent to which the individuals had feet and
gaits similar to those of humans, other features of ape-like notwithstanding, however,
have stimulated debates. Nevertheless, discussions and conclusions are derived from
only one hominid trackway of the time and photographs and casts of the same Laetoli
footprints housed in various museums across the world. This is because since their
discovery by Mary Leakey and her co-workers in 1976, no other ichnofossils have been
found despite tremendous research projects in the area. A newly discovered hominid
trackway from the vicinities of Laetoli, NE Tanzania by the University of Dar es Salaam
researchers and lecturers Fidelis Masao and Elgidius Ichumbaki is great value to the
global community. This discovery implicates the importance of Laetoli in providing rare
but robust insights into understanding anatomies and behaviors of early hominids.
The new footprints were discovered by UDSM researchers Drs. Fidelis Masao and
Elgidius Ichumbaki of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, College of
Humanities. The discovery was made in October 2014 during the fieldwork undertaken
as part of cultural heritage impact assessment (CHIA) with the view to minimize impacts
that would have resulted from implementation of the proposed ‘State of the Art
Museum’ project including rescue operations. The area of maximum impact was
subjected to cadastral mapping into 225m2 grids and numbered alphanumerically. Of the
total number of grids, 62 all of which are within Site G locality 8 were earmarked for
excavation and were excavated to and beyond the tuff. As excavation progressed, in two
of the grids, we noted that the underlying tuff had features that looked like a hominid
footprint. Following a careful meticulous excavations, Masao and Ichumbaki and their
co-workers exposed features that bespoke of a hominid trackway. Associated with the
hominid-like footprints, were small depressions suggestive of rain droplets and several
prints of various animals. After the researchers confirmed that the features are
footprints, the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism declared to the public that the
discovery continue to confirm Tanzania as an important centre of human origin.
Prior to this discovery, Mary Leakey and colleagues had discovered other hominid
footprints in 1976 and excavated them in 1978. This discovery together with the earlier
ones can be seen as providing convincing evidence to the earliest locomotors pattern.
Pliocene hominids at Laetoli had attained a fully upright bipedal and free standing gait, a
major evolutionary development with far reaching consequences. Not only had this
freed the hands for tool making and other activities, so led to more sophisticated
lifestyle. Dated to 3.6 million years ago they were the oldest known evidence of
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bipedalism at the time they were found, although now older evidence of bipedalism such
as that of the Ardipithecus ramidus fossils has been found. Against this general
rendering and attribution of bipedalism to australopiths on the basis of the footprints,
there have been arguments that conclusions reached about the bipedality of the Laetoli
footprint makers could be wrong. They could as well have been made by chimpanzeelike primate.
While the Laetoli footprints are the earliest known, other later hominid foot prints, so far
the largest, at least 123 in numbers, have been recovered from Australia and dated by
OSL to 19-23ka. Other footprints are known from Korea, and Nicaragua. Less known
footprints from Tanzania, ca. 300 in number have been discovered in Lake Natron and
are estimated to be 120 kya. The newly discovered footprints therefore need to be
celebrated and we invite collaborators from across the world to team up and further
investigate these footprints.
A part of the Laetoli landscape
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Hominid and animals’ footprints with their respective sketches
Some of the individual hominid footprints
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Raindrops
A part of the track and individual footprints and, the raindrops.
A part of trackway indicating light and left footprints
Acknowledgments
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We are grateful to the project consultant Peter Rich Architects GMP Engineers and the
Ngorongoro Conservation Authority without whom this discovery would not have been
made. Director of antiquities, Mr. D.M. Kamamba is thanked for moral support and
coordinate implementation of the project. We appreciate support from the University of
Dar es Salaam and especially Prof. B.B. Mapunda and Prof. Y. Kangalawe for both
permission to undertake the assignment and financial support short notice
notwithstanding. Dr. Emmanuel Kazimoto is acknowledged for looking at our
geological sample of the footprint bearing tuff. We are indebted to our field crew
particularly Augustino Songita, Goodluck,Peter their assistants. Students from the
University of Dar es Salaam: Terry Mwanache, Raymond Matei, Rahma Mpangala,
Jackson Kimambo and Naishie Lotta. Goodluck Peter made illustrations at the site and
Ritta Juel Bitsch of ENSPAC-Roskilde University, Denmark computerized the handdrawn sketches.
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