Footprints discovered in 1978 by paleontologist Mary Leakey and her colleagues in Laetoli, Tanzania, have been considered the oldest unambiguous evidence of upright walking in the human lineage. In 1976, another pair of strange footprints was partially unearthed at adjacent Site A, but they were disregarded as bear tracks. In 2019, an international research team led by Charles Musiba, Associate Professor of Anthropology, traveled to Laetoli, Tanzania to re-excavate and thoroughly clean the five footprints to discover who made them. They found indications that the fossil footprints were formed by a hominin, including a massive heel and enormous toe imprint, according to a new study published in Nature.
Ancient footprints hint at mysterious human relative with a strange walk
National Geographic , Dec 2
Once Believed to Have Come from Bears, Footprints in Archeological Site Found to Have Belonged to Early Humans
Nature World News , Dec 3