In 1976, an excavation in Tanzania unearthed ancient footprints that changed what we know about how we walk |
In East Africa, Mary Leakey’s team discovered 3.6-million-year-old footprints at Laetoli, providing the oldest direct evidence of obligate bipedalism. These impressions, preserved by volcanic ash, revealed an upright gait, settling debates about early human locomotion and showcasing Australopithecus afarensis’s adaptation to walking. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons An ordinary day of fieldwork in the dry savanna…