Possible A. afarensis Trackway Found in Tanzania

ROME, ITALY—BBC News reports that a new trackway of large footprints has been found at the site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania, where another set of prints, thought to have been left by Australopithecus afarensis individuals, was discovered about 500 feet away in the 1970s. Giorgio Manzi of Sapienza University, Marco Cherin of the University of Perugia, and their colleagues in Tanzania think the 3.66-million-year-old prints were made by an Australopithecus afarensis male who stood about five feet, five inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds. That’s almost eight inches taller than the height estimate made for the individuals who left the other tracks. Were Australopithecus afarensis males considerably larger than the females? The researchers suggest that taken together, the prints represent a group made up of one male, two or three females, and one or two juveniles. For more on ancient footprints, go to “Proof in the Prints.”