Archaeologists have unearthed nearly 5000-year-old footprints in Denmark, which could be a vital clue into the lives of the ancient humans who lived near coastal areas, as well as how they grappled with the damaging effects of the sea.
The two sets of preserved footprints has been discovered by archaeologists from Museum Lolland-Falster at a desiccated inlet or fford located in the island of Lolland, Denmark, which is replete with inlets and streams. The footprints were excavated a few meters away from a "long system of fixed gillnets on stakes" that would have likely been near the beach during the Stone Age.
The experts also recovered a 3000-year-old fishing fence used during the Stone Age. While fishing tools have been discovered earlier in Denmark, the footprints are a first.
"This is really quite extraordinary, finding footprints from humans. Normally, what we find is their rubbish in the form of tools and pottery, but here, we suddenly have a completely different type of trace from the past, footprints left by a human being," revealed archaeologist Terje Stafseth who helped unearth the prints.
It is believed that the footprints formed between 5000 BC to 2000 BC and the intricate gillnets were constructed to catch fish. It is likely, that the footprints managed to get preserved and remained undamaged due to the stormy weather in the area. The footprints were covered by a layer of mud and sand.
"These prints show the population attempted to save parts of their fishing system before it was flooded and covered in sand," said Lolland-Falster's Anne-Lotte Sjørup Mathiesen.
Sjørup Mathiesen also divulged that the prints were of different sizes - corresponding to size 36 and size 42 - with one being much bigger than the other. However, the experts are unable to tell if they belonged to a woman or a boy.
The archaeologists have also unearthed skulls that belonged to wild and domestic animals and are believed to have been offerings made by the farmers in the region.
The team is now creating molds of the footprints to preserve them. The archaeologists have not completed the excavation of the area and hope to discover more footprints.
