Laetoli — Hominin Footprint Site
Laetolil · Site G
Pliocene (3.66 Ma Laetolil Beds Upper Unit)·Australopithecus afarensis (natural trace)·🇹🇿 Arusha / Ngorongoro, Tanzania
Masao et al · CC BY-SA 4.0
About
About Laetoli — Hominin Footprint Site
Laetoli is the 3.66 Ma Pliocene footprint horizon (Site G) 45 km S of Olduvai, where Mary Leakey 1978 found 70 m trail of bipedal hominin footprints (Australopithecus afarensis, 3 individuals) plus 16,000 animal prints in Footprint Tuff 7 lithified volcanic ash from Sadiman volcano. Remeasured 2015– Musiba shows 2.5 Ma Site S 13 prints of Australopithecus. Reburied after excavation to protect. Part of Ngorongoro Conservation Area UNESCO 1979 criterion iii/iv. Ongoing Laetoli Footprint Tuff conservation by Getty.
Why it mattersEarliest unequivocal bipedal hominin locomotion evidence; revolutionized human evolution locomotion.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01One print shows cross-stepping — pathology or social?
- 02How many individuals — 2 or 3?
Theories
- 01Laetoli gait proves fully modern bipedality at 3.66 Ma (Leakey/Hay)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Not built — natural ashfall 3.66 Ma
- Period
- Pliocene (3.66 Ma Laetolil Beds Upper Unit)
- Culture
- Australopithecus afarensis (natural trace)
- Builders
- Natural volcanic ash + hominin passage
- Purpose
- Not anthropogenic — inadvertent time capsule of bipedalism
- Rediscovered
- 1978 Mary Leakey expedition
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
3.66 Ma
Footprint tuff deposition and hominin crossing
1978
Leakey Site G discovery
2015
New Site S prints reported
On the ground
Structures & features
2.9962° S · 35.3524° E · 1460 m · 3 mapped features
- Site G — Classic Footprint Trailfootprint27 m trail with 70 hominin footprints (G1/G2/G3) in tuff 7, reburied with Getty shelter2.9950° S · 35.3520° E
- Site S — New Hominin Trail (2015)footprint13 prints 3.7×1.2 m area in same tuff horizon, southern exposure 150 m S of G2.9970° S · 35.3530° E
- Sadiman Source Volcano Tuff Bedgeological15 cm Footprint Tuff 7 ash layer quarried at source Sadiman crater 20 km SE, dated 3.66 Ma2.9990° S · 35.3500° E
Gallery