Laetoli's lost tracks, believed to be the world's oldest set of footprints, are gaining new ground — thanks to modern technology.
A software used to decode crime scenes has helped uncover new data, according to researchers from Bournemouth University.
The forensic footprint analysis software, developed as part of the Natural Environments Research Council (NERC) Innovation Project, unearthed new information about the "lost" tracks and a possible fourth track maker at Laetoli, the site in Tanzania.
The software was originally developed to aid in modern crime scene investigations by creating three-dimensional images, which can be analyzed digitally.
Tedious police and CSI work may be greatly enhanced using modern crime scene analysis techniques.
Little did the researchers know, however, that the new software would also help to solve the mystery of these ancient footprints from 3.6 million years ago.
The Laetoli tracks were discovered by Mary Leakey in 1976. Leakey observed two parallel tracks that suggested two hominins crossed the surface. However, one of the said trackways was hidden when a third track maker walked on the same path.
In the 40 years that followed, the merging of the trackway did not receive much attention. With the use of the NERC software, Matthew Bennett and Marcin Budka were able to differentiate the merged trail.
For the first time, the shape of the tracks made by the third person was exposed. The team also discovered hints of a fourth track maker.
Bennett explained that footprints reveal a wealth of information about an individual, including the person's weight, height, and even walking speed. Gathering substantial information about footprints, Bennett said, offers interesting insights about how ancestors moved about in the past.
"It means that we have effectively doubled the information that the paleo-anthropological community has available for study of these hominin track makers," said Sally Reynolds, senior lecturer in Homonin Paleoecology from Bournemouth University's Institute for Studies of Landscape and Human Evolution and one of the study authors.
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
