c. 3660000 BC
Laetoli footprints as trace fossils of bipedal walking
Human evolution & hominins · Fósiles de traza · Huellas · Bipedismo
Footprints preserved in volcanic ash at Laetoli, Tanzania, are about 3.66 million years old and show heel strike, toe-off, and an aligned big toe. They are trace fossils: they record an activity and a substrate, not a skeleton. They are commonly attributed to *Australopithecus afarensis* because that species occurs in the same stratum and region, but that attribution is probable, not a demonstrable individual identification.
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · approximate
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- Date not recorded
Reading the date: point event.
Sources
- humanorigins.si.edu (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Not identified in metadata; document review pending
- Source updated
- 2024-07-08
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.