When researchers dug up the skeleton known as Little Foot in South Africa, they thought they had found an old friend in human history. Instead, it seems they might have discovered a new mystery.
Recent studies claim that Little Foot—one of the most complete hominin fossils ever found—doesn’t belong to any species we currently know. This could mean that the story of early human evolution is even more complex than we thought.
“This fossil is crucial for understanding our evolutionary history,” says Dr. Jesse Martin from La Trobe University, who led the study.
Little Foot, or StW 573, was discovered in the Sterkfontein Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Johannesburg. It earned its nickname from four small ankle bones found in the early ’90s. After 20 years of painstaking excavation, the skeleton was revealed in 2017. Ronald Clarke, the paleoanthropologist who led the excavation, suggested it was part of a species called Australopithecus prometheus, proposed by anatomist Raymond Dart in 1948.
However, this categorization was mostly dismissed by the scientific community, which believed A. prometheus didn’t differ significantly from Australopithecus africanus, described by Dart in 1925.
Now, with new research published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Martin and his team argue otherwise. They examined Little Foot’s skull closely, comparing it to other fossils from the same region. Their findings suggest that Little Foot doesn’t fit the profiles of either A. prometheus or A. africanus. Instead, it might belong to an unknown species altogether.
“The back of the skull is usually quite stable in evolution,” Martin explained. By using advanced 3D scans, the researchers identified significant differences between Little Foot and the other species, such as unique traits at the base of the skull.
Many experts believe our understanding of human evolution has shifted dramatically in recent years. Studies show that several hominin species coexisted during the same periods. For instance, fossils indicate that Australopithecus afarensis, the species of the famous “Lucy,” shared its time with at least two other hominins.
Dr. Martin pointed out that instead of being an exception, our survival as a species is likely unusual in the grand scheme of biodiversity. “In the history of life, being the only survivor of a genus is often a sign of impending extinction,” he added.
The Sterkfontein area alone has yielded fossils from multiple ancient species, including A. africanus and Homo naledi. The idea that there could be yet another species in this mix suggests a richer, more intricate story of human evolution in southern Africa.
Despite the intriguing nature of these findings, the team refrained from naming a new species, emphasizing that this honor should go to the team that spent years studying Little Foot.
The age of Little Foot is still uncertain. Some estimates suggest it might be around 3.7 million years old, while others place it closer to 2.6 million years. This ambiguity makes its exact role in the hominin family tree even harder to determine.
Ultimately, Little Foot complicates the straightforward narrative of human evolution, adding another layer where researchers expected a clear path. As Dr. Martin confidently remarked, “Every time we dig deeper, the story of human diversity in South Africa becomes more intricate.”
To learn more about these findings, check the research published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
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