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 225m 2 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 1
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 2
Hominid and animals footprints with their respective sketches Some of the individual hominid footprints 3
Raindrops A part of the track and individual footprints and, the raindrops. Acknowledgments A part of trackway indicating light and left footprints 4
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. 5