More than a million years ago, on a warm and vibrant African savanna near Lake Turkana in what is now Kenya, two entirely different species of hominins shared the same geographic space. This discovery, the result of research by an international team led in part by a Rutgers University researcher, represents a key breakthrough in our understanding of human evolution.
The evidence comes from a set of hominin fossil footprints, approximately 1.5 million years old, found on the shore of an ancient lake. These footprints constitute the first recorded example of two distinct hominin species leaving marks in the same place and during a similar time frame. According to scientists, this finding not only confirms that these species coexisted but also offers a unique window into how they interacted and competed in their environment.
The term “hominin” refers to a subgroup within hominids, including all organisms, living or extinct, that are part of the human evolutionary lineage after diverging from the common ancestors of great apes 6 to 7 million years ago.
In this case, the footprints belong to two major species from the Pleistocene: Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei. Both had upright postures and were bipedal, but they exhibited significant anatomical differences, suggesting distinct patterns of locomotion and behavior.
Craig Feibel, a professor of Earth Sciences and Anthropology at Rutgers and an author of the study, used his expertise in stratigraphy and dating to establish that these footprints were formed 1.5 million years ago. He also determined that both sets of footprints were made within a few hours of each other, in soft sediments near the lake. While it is not possible to confirm if the two hominin groups interacted directly, it is clear that they shared the same habitat in a brief time interval.
Kevin Hatala, the study’s lead author and an expert in foot anatomy, used innovative 3D analysis methods to distinguish the footprints of the two species. These techniques not only identified anatomical differences but also opened new possibilities for interpreting behaviors and movement patterns that cannot be deduced from bones or stone tools.
The discovered footprints fall into a category known as “trace fossils.” Unlike body fossils such as bones or teeth, trace fossils represent specific activities and behaviors, such as walking, building nests, or digging burrows. According to Feibel, trace fossils hold unique importance because they are unaltered records of activity at a particular place and time, whereas body fossils may be displaced by predators or water.
This discovery not only provides tangible evidence that two hominin species coexisted but also raises intriguing questions about their cultural and reproductive interactions. While Homo erectus persisted for another million years, Paranthropus boisei became extinct within a few hundred thousand years, and scientists still do not know the reasons for this divergence in evolutionary fates.
Moreover, the discovery offers new perspectives on the evolution of human locomotion and ecological dynamics in the Pleistocene. By observing how these hominins moved and interacted, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that shaped the behavior and adaptive capacities of our ancestors.
The discovery of these footprints in 2021 was made possible by the efforts of a team led by Louise Leakey, a member of a family iconic in the field of paleoanthropology. The team, composed primarily of Kenyan researchers, located the footprints after heavy rains in the region. Coordination and the use of advanced technologies like 3D analysis ensured the maximum scientific relevance of this finding.
The coexistence of Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, evidenced by these footprints, marks a milestone in the study of human evolution.
SOURCES
Kevin G. Hatala et al., Footprint evidence for locomotor diversity and shared habitats among early Pleistocene hominins. Science386, 1004-1010(2024). DOI:10.1126/science.ado5275
William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, Contemporary hominin locomotor diversity. Science386, 969-970(2024). DOI:10.1126/science.adt8033
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