Open AccessPossible Pleistocene hominin tracks from South Africa’s west coast
Author(s) -
Charles Helm,
Hayley C. Cawthra,
Jan C. De Vynck,
Rudolf Hattingh,
Martin G. Lockley
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
south african journal of science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.317
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1996-7489
pISSN - 0038-2353
DOI - 10.17159/sajs.2022/11842
Subject(s) - pleistocene , homo sapiens , geology , paleontology , early pleistocene , hominidae , geography , out of africa , middle stone age , west coast , fossil record , stone tool , archaeology , oceanography , biological evolution , biology , evolutionary biology , genetics
Two probable tracks have been identified on the ceiling of a small overhang in the Pleistocene Langebaan Formation on South Africa’s west coast. They may have been made by a hominin trackmaker. They appear to have been registered at walking speed on a level, sandy dune substrate. Three tracks, attributed to Homo sapiens, were previously identified near Langebaan in 1995, and were popularly labelled ‘Eve’s Footprints’. The new identification of possible hominin tracks near Langebaan is the second from South Africa’s west coast. This discovery adds to the sparse but growing global record of possible hominin tracks preserved in aeolianites.