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Incredible: Researchers uncover remains of ‘Little Foot’, a new human ancestor in South Africa
Australian researchers have raised the possibility of the existence of a new human ancestor in connection with one of the world’s most complete human fossils. The specimen, nicknamed ‘Little Foot’, does not fit neatly into any previously known species, prompting the suggestion that an as-yet unidentified human ancestor may have been discovered.
‘Little Foot’ is one of the most significant hominin fossils ever found and was first presented to the public in 2017. According to The Guardian, this skeleton is the most complete Australopithecus specimen ever discovered and could play a key role in understanding the early stages of human evolution.
Identification took decades
The fossil takes its name from the foot bones that were first discovered back in 1994 in South Africa’s famous Sterkfontein cave system. The excavation of the complete skeleton, however, proved to be an exceptionally slow and meticulous process: it took more than twenty years for researchers to recover and analyse the entire specimen.
From the outset, there has been debate over exactly which species ‘Little Foot’ belongs to. Ronald Clarke, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and leader of the excavation, assigned it to the species Australopithecus prometheus. Other experts, however, argued that it represents Australopithecus africanus, remains of which had previously been found in the same cave system.
Is ‘Little Foot’ truly a new human ancestor?
Researchers have concluded that the anatomical characteristics of ‘Little Foot’ do not match any known subspecies of Australopithecus. This raises the possibility that the fossil belongs to a previously unidentified, entirely new human ancestor species.
Dr Jesse Martin, the lead author of the study, emphasised that it is conceivable they have uncovered not merely a new point on the human family tree, but an entirely unknown branch of it.
Decisive anatomical differences
The researchers identified particularly significant differences at the back of the skull, in the so-called occipital plane. In the case of Little Foot, this region is longer than in specimens of Australopithecus africanus. This is especially important because the lower rear part of the skull is generally a relatively stable, slowly changing area in the course of human evolution.
According to Dr Martin, if pronounced differences are observed in this region, they are highly likely to indicate different species. All the differences identified during the study appeared in this specific anatomical zone, further reinforcing the idea that ‘Little Foot’ may indeed represent a new human ancestor.
Heated debates and serious questions surround the discovery
The discovery is particularly striking because the Sterkfontein cave system is one of the most thoroughly studied sites in terms of human evolution. Even researchers themselves find it somewhat paradoxical that an entirely new human ancestor could emerge from such a well-explored location.
At the same time, the authors of the study have remained cautious: they have not officially named the new species. They believe that this step should be taken by the research team that spent more than two decades excavating and analysing Little Foot.
Further debate is fuelled by the age of the fossil. Some dating methods suggest that Little Foot is 3.67 million years old, while other researchers argue that it cannot be older than 2.8 million years. This question is also crucial in determining where this presumed new human ancestor fits within the human family tree.
Human evolutionary theory may take a new direction
Although the official classification of ‘Little Foot’ is still pending, the research clearly demonstrates that the story of human evolution is far from complete. The recognition of a new human ancestor would not only elevate the significance of a single fossil, but could fundamentally reshape how we think about our own origins.