Little foot fossil
Little foot fossil, An international team of researchers used new dating techniques to estimate the age of ‘Little Foot’ – a South African fossil specimen whose age has been debated for over two decades. At about 3.67 million years old, this specimen could have lived at the same time as Australopithecus afarensis, a more widely studied species that includes the famous ‘Lucy.’
The new estimate, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, could help identify the yet-unclassified Little Foot fossil – and sharpen the picture of human evolution.
In 1994, paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke discovered Little Foot in an unusual place. Dr. Clarke, who also co-authored Wednesday's study, stumbled upon the specimen – a series of bone fragments from a diminutive left foot – not buried beneath layers of sediment, but packed away in museum boxes.
The new estimate, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, could help identify the yet-unclassified Little Foot fossil – and sharpen the picture of human evolution.
In 1994, paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke discovered Little Foot in an unusual place. Dr. Clarke, who also co-authored Wednesday's study, stumbled upon the specimen – a series of bone fragments from a diminutive left foot – not buried beneath layers of sediment, but packed away in museum boxes.
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Little foot fossil
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