Around 1.5 million years ago, four walkers( Paranthropus boisei, Homo erectus) traversed the muddy shore of a lake, leaving footprints
Around 1.5 million years ago, four walkers traversed the muddy shore of a lake, leaving footprints. If they did not cross paths, they would have missed each other narrowly — probably by hours if not minutes. Left: A footprint hypothesized to have been created by a Paranthropus boisei individual. Right: A footprint hypothesized to have been created by a Homo erectus individual. (Kevin Hatala/Chatham University) What makes the discovery of these footprints so remarkable is the identity of those who left them. Using innovative technology, researchers have analyzed the prints in detail, concluding that the footprints were made by two distinct species of hominins — our prehistoric relatives — at around the same time. While one set of tracks belonged to an ancient primate, Paranthropus boisei, the other footprints were left behind by three Homo erectus individuals, an archaic human species, researchers believe. Their findings were published in the journal Sci...