Laetoli remains

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Laetoli footprints

Laetoli remains

hominin fossils

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June 30, 2026

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Laetoli footprints — Laetoli footprints A trail of footprints, probably left by Australopithecus afarensis individuals some 3.5 million years ago, at Laetoli, northern Tanzania.

The Laetoli site in Tanzania is a significant paleoanthropological location, famous for its hominin fossils and ancient footprints. Discovered in 1978, fossils of Australopithecus afarensis were found dating between 3.76 and 3.46 million years ago. These remains include teeth, jaws, and a partial infant skeleton from at least 23 individuals.1

Of monumental importance are the humanlike footprints preserved in volcanic sediments dated to 3.56 million years ago. These trails, likely made by A. afarensis, provide crucial evidence for early bipedalism in human evolution. While A. afarensis is also known from Ethiopia, the Laetoli footprints offer a direct glimpse into the locomotion of these ancient hominins. Fossils of Homo sapiens have also been found at Laetoli, dating to approximately 120,000 years ago.12

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Laetoli
fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had been unearthed in 1938. The fossils found at Laetoli date to a period between 3.76 and 3.46 million years ago (mya). They come from…
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fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had been unearthed in 1938. The fossils found at Laetoli date to a period between 3.76 and 3.46 million years ago (mya). They come from…
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Australopithecus
Australopithecus afarensis and Au. garhi
…the northern Tanzanian site of Laetoli, dating to approximately 3.6 mya, are among the most ancient examples of Au. afarensis. Investigation at Laetoli unveiled a layer of volcanic ash that preserved thousands of animal footprints. Amazingly, two Au. afarensis individuals left a 24.4-metre- (80-foot-) long trail of their own footprints…
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…the northern Tanzanian site of Laetoli, dating to approximately 3.6 mya, are among the most ancient examples of Au. afarensis. Investigation at Laetoli unveiled a layer of volcanic ash that preserved thousands of animal footprints. Amazingly, two Au. afarensis individuals left a 24.4-metre- (80-foot-) long trail of their own footprints…
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Homo sapiens
Origin
…trails of footprints found at Laetoli, Tanzania, prove that early hominins were upright bipeds when on the ground. However, they also retained many reminders of their tree-dwelling ancestry, especially their rather long arms, short legs, narrow shoulders, and long grasping extremities. All these features would have made them agile upright…
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…trails of footprints found at Laetoli, Tanzania, prove that early hominins were upright bipeds when on the ground. However, they also retained many reminders of their tree-dwelling ancestry, especially their rather long arms, short legs, narrow shoulders, and long grasping extremities. All these features would have made them agile upright…
Read More