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Snapshots of human anatomy, locomotion, and behavior from Late Pleistocene footprints at Engare Sero, Tanzania

Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Fossil hominin footprints preserve data on a remarkably short time scale compared to most other fossil evidence, offering snapshots of organisms in their immediate ecological and behavioral contexts. Here, we report on our excavations and analyses of more than 400 Late Pleistocene human footprints from Engare Sero, Tanzania. The site represents the largest assemblage of footprints currently known from the human fossil record in Africa. Speed estimates show that the trackways reflect both walking and running behaviors. Estimates of group composition suggest that these footprints were made by a mixed-sex and mixed-age group, but one that consisted of mostly adult females. One group of similarly-oriented trackways was attributed to 14 adult females who walked together at the same pace, with only two adult males and one juvenile accompanying them. In the context of modern ethnographic data, we suggest that these trackways may capture a unique snapshot of cooperative and sexually divided foraging behavior in Late Pleistocene humans.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64095-0
Authors: Kevin G. Hatala, William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, Adam D. Gordon, Brian W. Zimmer, Brian G. Richmond, Briana L. Pobiner, David J. Green, Adam Metallo, Vince Rossi, Cynthia M. Liutkus-Pierce
Institutions: George Washington University, Chatham University, The Graduate Center, CUNY, American Museum of Natural History, Lehman College, University at Albany, State University of New York, Appalachian State University, Smithsonian Institution, Campbell University
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,870
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Leakey Foundation, National Geographic Society, George Washington University, Appalachian State University, Evolving Earth Foundation, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism
Awards: G1508405163, G2236094812, G2842122727, G393527394, G4378920012, Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Fossil footprints and the dynamics of footprint formation: Implications for the evolution of human gait
OpenAlex ID: W3024200201
FWCI: 19.83
Cites: 40
Cited by: 29
Related to: 10