Abstract
Recent discoveries in the Laetolil beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania have revealed hominid tracks made by three individuals in a bed of cemented volcanic ash. The tracks extend for a distance of 27 m and indicate a fully upright, bipedal gait with weight distribution similar to that of modern man. A single trail proceeds alongside a dual trail in which the footsteps of the leading individual are almost exactly overprinted by the second set of tracks. Radiometric dating of an overlying tuff has yielded a figure of 3.6 Ma. Stone artefacts are unknown in the Laetolil beds, and a date of
ca
. 2 Ma for the earliest formalized tool-making is postulated on the evidence from Olduvai Gorge.
Subject
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Business, Management and Accounting,Materials Science (miscellaneous),Business and International Management
Cited by
57 articles.
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