Footprints on Greek Island are 5.7 Million Years Old

Two sets of ancient footprints–– believed to be around 5.7 million years old–– have been discovered on the tiny Greek island of Trachilos, Crete.

Both sets of footprints are remarkable because they seem to have been left by a bipedal animal–– possibly by one of our hominin ancestors–– or else, by an upright-walking ape.

If these footprints were indeed left by an early hominin then they would lend support to a controversial hypothesis which argues that humans emerged not out of Africa, but out of the Balkans.

While the oldest undoubted hominin fossils (Ardipithecus ramidus) were found in East Africa and date back some 4.4 million years, there have been other, more controversial discoveries from possible hominins dating as far back as 6- to 7- million years. These include the 6-million-year-old Orrorin from Kenya and the roughly 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus from Chad. These discoveries already suggest that the divergence from Chimpanzees and Humans must have taken place earlier than we previously thought.

The newly-discovered footprints are remarkable because they are believed to predate the period during which hominins are conventionally believed to have left Africa by a staggering 1.7 million years. This alone made it difficult for the researchers to publish their findings in any reputable scientific journal.

Unlike the Ardipithecus that had an opposable big toe which would have left a distinctive footprint, the Trachilos track-maker appears to have held all five toes parallel while also pressing down on the soles of its feet–– a Human rather than Chimpanzee feature.

However, this modern-looking footprint alone is not enough to provide firm evidence for our species' emergence in Eastern Europe, given that even Gorillas have a more similar foot profile to modern Humans than do the more closely related Chimpanzees. It is also possible that a species such as the Ardipithecus may have been able to squeeze its opposable toe in line with the rest of its foot to give the impression of a more modern-looking footprint.

'Out-of-Africa'

The hypothesis that our early ancestors emerged in Eastern Europe relies on several pieces of evidence. These include the 1944 discovery of a controversial 7.2-million-year-old mandible in Greece from a previously unrecorded species known as Graecopithecus. As well as the 2012 discovery of a hominid tooth from 7 million years ago in Bulgaria. It is also widely accepted that animals such as giraffes, antelopes, and rhinos–– fixtures of the African savannah–– did in fact emerge in the southern Balkans and live there for millions of years before eventually migrating into Africa some 7 mya. This being the case, our early ancestors may have indeed migrated from Eastern Europe into Africa too in the pursuit of prey.

Whatever the case, this recent discovery is being hailed as yet another piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle which is our early human story–– even if the picture remains as mirky as ever.

What do you think? Did modern humans emerge in Eastern Europe and then migrate into Africa? Or is the Out-of-Africa model as robust as ever?

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