A team of researchers in South Africa has encountered more than 350 vertebrate tracksites along the coast dating back 70,000 to 150,000 years.
, focusing on the Middle Stone Age. Upon sighting the ancient footprints, archaeologists designed footwear to imprint the tracks.The Conversation“The global record of sites attributed to shod trackmakers is sparse. Until now, only four sites older than 30,000 years have been postulated, all from western Europe, including a Neanderthal site.”
However, the discoveries’ evidence is inconclusive. Scientists said: “Today, the ancient dune surfaces our ancestors walked along are cemented and preserved as aeolianites. We have previously reported on the tracks of our barefoot Homo sapiens ancestors along this coastline and now focused on three sites that appeared to be of hominin origin and were crisply outlined, but contained no evidence of toe impressions.
Archaeologists further analyzed existing knowledge of sandals worn by the indigenous San people on the sands of the Kalahari desert and drew accounts of museum specimens and depictions of footwear in the San rock art record.Upon further research, the team crafted ancient-style footwear and used it to make tracks on the beaches and dunes of the Cape.
The experimentation led them to surmise that “an open, hard sole design, with tracks made on moist, moderately soft but nonetheless cohesive sand, best fitted the findings at the three fossil tracksites,” statedThe findings indicate that ancient humans deliberately developed footwear as a logical solution to avoid suffering lacerations if barefoot while foraging on the Cape Coast. Other incentives to wear footwear could include protection from heat and cold.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africa finally ends Australia winning streak to stay alive in ODI seriesDavid Warner’s shoe came off then so did the wheels in Australia’s innings as South Africa stayed alive in their one-day international series in Potchefstroom.
Read more »
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, former Mandela rival in South Africa, dies at 95Enigmatic and divisive, Mr. Buthelezi nearly disrupted 1994 elections that brought Nelson Mandela to power to end White rule in South Africa.
Read more »
Volvo Tops Premium C-SUV Electric Vehicle Sales In First Half Of 2023 In South AfricaIn the first half of this year, Volvo Cars South Africa led the sales charge in the local market’s fully electric premium C-SUV segment, far outselling every other brand in this space.
Read more »
Stellantis to Invest $160 Million in South Africa Auto FactoryStellantis NV will invest 3 billion rand ($160 million) to develop a new vehicle manufacturing facility in South Africa with the country’s Industrial Development Corp. and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
Read more »
South Africa's Malcolm Marx out of Rugby World Cup with long-term knee injurySouth Africa hooker Malcolm Marx has been ruled out of the remainder of the Rugby World Cup with what the team described as a long-term knee injury.
Read more »
'I am horrified': Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to edge of spaceScientists are calling the Virgin Galactic mission that carried the bones of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi to the edge of space a major ethical breach.
Read more »