Footprints on Greek island are 5.7 million years old
Fossil footprints laid down more than five million years ago in what is now Crete could belong to a previously unknown primate, and perhaps even an ancient hominin — an animal more closely related to humans than to chimps.
Per Ahlberg at Uppsala University in Sweden and his colleagues identified more than 50 fossil traces in an area less than 4 metres square. The animal responsible for the prints — left some 5.7 million years ago — was probably claw-less, bipedal, walked on the soles of its feet, and had other hominin-like characteristics.
Also at Uppsala University:
Human feet have a very distinctive shape, different from all other land animals. The combination of a long sole, five short forward-pointing toes without claws, and a hallux ("big toe") that is larger than the other toes, is unique. The feet of our closest relatives, the great apes, look more like a human hand with a thumb-like hallux that sticks out to the side.
[...] The new footprints, from Trachilos in western Crete, have an unmistakably human-like form. This is especially true of the toes. The big toe is similar to our own in shape, size and position; it is also associated with a distinct 'ball' on the sole, which is never present in apes. The sole of the foot is proportionately shorter than in the Laetoli prints, but it has the same general form. In short, the shape of the Trachilos prints indicates unambiguously that they belong to an early hominin, somewhat more primitive than the Laetoli trackmaker. They were made on a sandy seashore, possibly a small river delta, whereas the Laetoli tracks were made in volcanic ash.
Possible hominin footprints from the late Miocene (c. 5.7 Ma) of Crete? (DOI: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.07.006) (DX)
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday September 05 2017, @09:33AM
I thought the Minoans were wiped out when Thera erupted causing a tsunami. But I'm willing to entertain the possibility that it was magic and mythical beasts. After all, there was a lot of it about in the olden days. It all seems to have stopped now. When did the gods stop doing miracles? And why? Was it some kind of protest at person-kind's hubristic attempts to test them using that pesky Scientific Method?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].