The article points out that footprints in the 3.5 million years old range have been found, these are just the oldest footprints of Stone Age humans.
-- Only two things are infinite, the universe and human
stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (Einstein)
Re:Actually ...
by
reverseengineer
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Well, they're footprints of a recent precursor to modern humans, Homo heidelbergensis, which is believed to be the forerunner of both H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens There are some paleoanthropologists, however, who think that H. heidelbergensis (I just love that name) might only be the direct ancestor of Neanderthals and that the break between H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens occurred earlier.
It is also interesting to note that these footprints indicate that they were made by beings which were approximately 4.5ft (1.5m) tall, though H. heidelbergensis remains suggest that adults of the species may have been as tall as 6 feet (1.9m). Thus, as the article suggests, these footprints may have been made by children- or they made be from a completely different hominid species.
-- "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
You can tell a lot from the footprints, such as the shape of pelvis bones, relative age and weight of the print maker, frequently the gender of the print-maker... all from the angle of the foot prints. If the prints are the correct proportions for 'human' and have the correct angles for a human walker, then scientists can probably narrow it down to being human prints with great accuracy.
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The article points out that footprints in the 3.5 million years old range have been found, these are just the oldest footprints of Stone Age humans.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (Einstein)
You can tell a lot from the footprints, such as the shape of pelvis bones, relative age and weight of the print maker, frequently the gender of the print-maker... all from the angle of the foot prints. If the prints are the correct proportions for 'human' and have the correct angles for a human walker, then scientists can probably narrow it down to being human prints with great accuracy.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!