One and a half million years ago, two completely different hominin species walked simultaneously on a path across the African savannah near the future Lake Turkana in Kenya. Paleoanthropologists came to this conclusion after discovering the fossilized footprints of Paranthropus boisei and Homo erectus. This is the first evidence not only of hominin coexistence, but also of their possible encounters; The abundance of wild animals has made this area ideal for hunting.

Erect man appeared on Earth about 1.89 million years ago and, according to various sources, died out between 0.4 and 0.1 million years ago. Its brain was smaller than that of modern humans but larger than Beuys’ paranthropus. Representative of one of the species of giant australopithecines. Paranthropes lived on the planet for approximately 2.3-1.2 million years. before and their height was about 137 centimeters.

In 2021, during excavations in the Koobi-Fora formation (Kenya), paleoanthropologists discovered an ancient hominin skeleton, animal tracks, large birds and footprints. Scientists couldn’t say for sure whether it belonged to a paranthropus or an early Homo, so they returned to the site a year later and after conducting additional excavations found 15 tracks dating back 1.5 million years.

Currently, an international research group led by Kevin Hatala (Kevin Hatala) from Chatham University (USA) is analyzing the pressures. The results of the study, presented in the journal Science, made it possible to determine not only the type of traces, but also the body weight, speed of movement and even possible behavioral characteristics of those who left them.

We remind you that fossilized prints are a reliable source of information about ancient people and paranthropes (prints after training are impossible to move or distort). Tracks are often preserved in dirt, volcanic ash and silt. The team of scientists used high-precision 3D scanning and digital microscopy to analyze the shape, size and microscopic properties of the prints.

It turned out that erectus and paranthropus coexisted in this region of East Africa and were in the same place with a difference of several hours (the time was determined by interpreting the conditions of accumulation of precipitation on the surface of the prints). Moreover, they must have met. However, since Boyce’s paranthrope was not a human ancestor, this image did not give him much comfort.

“This is the first direct evidence that two different hominin species not only lived at the same time but hunted in the same places,” said Kevin Hatala, lead author of the study.

The differences in upright walking became particularly interesting. In particular, erectus’ tracks pointed to its more modern gait (similar to ours) as opposed to paranthropus; Its traces suggest a different walking style. hominin and interspecific competition. These visitors to the ancient lake also looked different (their paranthrope legs looked more like monkey paws, for example).

The discovered tracks are not just marks on a stone, they are a significant achievement in paleoanthropology. The authors of the scientific article stated that the coexistence, competition and possible interaction of two completely different hominin species may have influenced the formation of Homo sapiens. The discovery also confirms the nonlinear evolution of early Homo, a complex tree with many branches intersecting simultaneously.

If the results described in the article are correct, then 1.5 million years ago an honest man and Boyce’s paranthropus lived in the same resource-rich place. The research team plans to continue excavations in the Lake Turkana basin, hoping to uncover additional evidence of the coexistence and interaction of different hominin species.