Buzz
Two decades after its discovery in an African cave, one of the most significant fossils shedding light on human evolution is now on exhibit. As reported by Smithsonian, Little Foot, a specimen of Australopithecus from over 3 million years ago, was unveiled this month at the Hominin Vault in the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Paleontologist Ron Clarke first uncovered bone fragments from the Little Foot fossil in 1994. The remains came from the feet of a young female, which inspired the name. Clarke and his team spent years painstakingly excavating Little Foot from the Sterkfontein cave system in South Africa, completing the recovery of the bones in 2012. The bones had been trapped in breccia, a concrete-like material, making the task of extraction especially difficult. Yet, the result is extraordinary: Little Foot is the most complete Australopithecus fossil ever discovered.
The genus Australopithecus played a crucial role in the early stages of human evolution. Lucy, another well-known hominid fossil, belongs to this same genus, but while Lucy is only 40 percent complete, Little Foot has 90 percent of her skeleton preserved, including her skull. It's also possible that Little Foot is older than Lucy. While most experts place Lucy at about 3.2 million years old, one study suggests that Little Foot may be as ancient as 3.67 million years.
Australopithecus is thought to have given rise to Homo, the genus that eventually includes our own species. The discoveries of Lucy and other fossils have led scientists to place East Africa as the heart of human evolution, but if Little Foot's age is confirmed as suggested by recent tests, South Africa might deserve a more significant role in the story.
After Little Foot's public unveiling, the research team studying her is preparing to publish several papers addressing the numerous questions her discovery brings to light.
