The Oldest Human Footprint In The World Dated Back 153,000 Years And Was Found On South Africa’s Cape South Coast
Over 20 years ago, it was rare to find tracks left by our ancient human ancestors that were more than 50,000 years old. Back then, experts only knew about four sites in all of Africa.
Two were in East Africa, and the other two were in South Africa. The Nahoon site in South Africa was the first-ever hominin track to be described. It was reported in 1966.
Today, there are 14 sites in Africa that contain hominin tracks and other remains that are older than 50,000 years.
Five sites are in East Africa, while nine are in South Africa by the Cape Coast. On the Cape Coast, few skeletal remains have been found.
The sites on South Africa’s Cape South Coast all range in age, with the most recent dating back about 71,000 years.
The earliest site dates back 153,000 years and is home to the oldest footprint made by a member of our species, Homo sapiens. The creator of the track dragged their heel, making the footprint appear long and narrow.
Other evidence from the area, including sophisticated stone tools, jewelry, art, and shellfish harvesting, confirmed that early modern humans thrived there before moving beyond Africa.
The East African and South African track sites are significantly different. The East African sites are much older, dating from 0.7 million years to 3.66 million years.
The tracks were also made by earlier species, such as Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, and australopithecines. It takes hard work to excavate and expose them.
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In contrast, the South African sites are a lot younger and are all associated with Homo sapiens. They are usually already exposed by the time they are discovered.
However, they are not as well-preserved as the East African ones because they are unprotected from the elements and the harsh dune sand. In addition, they are vulnerable to erosion, so researchers must work quickly to document them.
For the tracks on the Cape South Coast, researchers use a technique called optically stimulated luminescence to determine how old they are.
This dating method shows how long ago a sand grain was exposed to sunlight. The sediments at the Cape South Coast are rich in grains of quartz, which help make more precise age estimates.
The 153,000-year-old track was found in the Garden Route National Park, which is located west of the coastal town of Knysna.
Nahoon and Langebaan, the two previously dated South African sites, are about 124,000 years old and 117,000 years old.
The research team that conducted the work is based in the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. The team believes that more hominin tracks are out there, just waiting to be discovered.
They expect the list of sites to be much longer in a decade from now. They will be able to improve their understanding of ancient human ancestors in Africa.
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