19000-Year-Old Human Footprints Discovered In Africa: Throw Light On Ancient Human Behavior?

A huge collection of more than 400 human footprints, estimated to date back to 10,000 to 19,000 years ago, has reportedly been discovered by geologists in Africa. The massive set of footprints left behind by ancient humans was discovered in northern Tanzania, on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero. The prehistoric footprints were found preserved in the mud about nine miles from the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, also known as 'Mountain of God', that is held sacred by the Maasai.

As per reports, so many human footprints have not been discovered in one place in Africa to date. "It's a very complicated site," said William Harcourt-Smith, one of the researchers. "There's one area where there are so many prints, we've nicknamed it the "dance hall", because I've never seen so many prints in one place....it's completely nuts."

The researching team dated the human footprints by discovering that a muddy flow of ash and debris from the volcano's side was responsible for preserving them. On the basis of dating, the researchers have suggested that the footprints are latest Pleistocene in age, and added that the well preserved footprints record traces of ancient humans, their behavior and activity during that time. Incidentally, the Maasai make regular pilgrimages to the volcano even now to pay tribute to their god Engai.

The researchers were able to identify around 24 tracks, and demarcate some as prints left behind by people jogging as well as point out to some of the tracks as human footprints of a group of 12 people travelling together.  The researching team carried out geochemical scans of the entire site as well as created 3D scans of the area, and is now looking into the long term preservation plans for the site.

According to the researchers, more human footprints could be buried under the northern sand dunes in the area. As per the researching team, the discovery could also throw light on ancient humans, particularly their behavior in the Pleistocene age.  Furthermore, the footprints could also give an insight into the hazardous interaction between ancient humans and the volcanically active shoreline in the area.