Fossil footprint left by human ancestor about 1.5 million years ago in Kenya is pictured in this undated handout…A fossil footprint left by a human ancestor about 1.5 million years ago in Kenya is pictured in this undated handout released to Reuters on February 26, 2009. This and other footprints found in Kenya that resemble those left in wet sand by beach goers today show that 1.5 million years ago a human ancestor walked like we do with anatomically modern feet, scientists said on Thursday. The remains of the footprints found in sedimentary rock near Ileret in northern Kenya most likely were left by a human ancestor called Homo erectus, also known as Homo ergaster, scientists wrote. REUTERS/Image courtesy of Professor Matthew Bennett, Bournemouth University/Handout (UNITED STATES). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.
Ileret site (Kenya)
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In the late 2000s, researchers exploring the area near a village in northwestern Kenya, called Ileret, stumbled on dozens of 1.5-million-year-old human footprints. These prints are likely to have been made by the early hominid Homo ergaster or early Homo erectus who were walking in one direction along a lakeside, possibly hunting for antelope or wildebeest. Judging from stride length, paleoanthropologists estimated the individuals were about 5ft 9in tall.
