The shores of Lake Turkana have offered another glimpse to early phases of human evolution. Archaeologists have discovered a set of 1.5 million-year-old footprints at Ileret, an archaeological site at the northern shores of the lake. The footprints confirm the early man walked upright.
The discovery is reported in the current edition of Science, the journal that publishes significant original scientific research and policy issues.The researchers from the National Museums of Kenya, Bournemouth University, George Washington University, Rutgers University and University of Cape Town say the findings add to the interpretation of the later pre-history of Africa.
According to Prof Matthew Bennet, the findings show that more than 1.5 million years ago, early man had evolved a modern human foot function and a style of bipedal locomotion that we would recognise today.
The new footprints are the second oldest in the world after the 3.7 million year-old prints in (more…)
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