Overview
- The PNAS study, published Tuesday, describes 21 fossil footprints at the GaJi10 lakeshore in northern Kenya dated to about 1.43 million years ago using volcanic ash layers.
- Researchers attribute the prints to eight individuals on the basis of foot shape, internal foot mechanics and gait patterns recorded in 2D and 3D imaging.
- Footprint measurements yield revised body-size estimates of up to roughly 1.8 meters tall and about 75 kilograms, larger than most previous skeletal-based estimates for P. boisei.
- One trackway records eight mostly adult prints with no clear evidence of females or children, which the authors interpret as an episode of adult-male group movement or a bachelor group.
- The site joins nearby Lake Turkana trackways showing P. boisei and Homo erectus used the same lake margins, and the research team will return later this year to excavate and test these behavioral and taxonomic conclusions.