Oldest set of human footprints discovered

SCIENTISTS have found the oldest ever set of human footprints preserved on an Italian volcano, it was revealed yesterday.

They were left by three small human-like creatures who scrambled down the side of the mountain between 325,000 and 385,000 years ago.

Researchers said it was clear from the tracks the pigmy hominids, probably no taller than 1.5 metres, walked on two legs. The footprints, found at the Roccamonfina volcano in Campania, southern Italy, are locally known as devils' trails.

Reporting the discovery in the journal Nature, the scientists led by Paolo Mietto, from the University of Padua, Italy, wrote: "We believe these tracks are the oldest human footprints found so far and that they were made by hominids who had a fully bipedal, free-standing gait, using their hands only to steady themselves on the difficult descent."

The tracks, designated A, B and C, are preserved on the surface of a single layer of volcanic ash and descend a steep slope that in places is almost vertical. Trail A consists of 27 footprints, which at one point follow a Z-shaped path.

Trackway B is composed of 19 footprints crossing the slope in a single straight line and curving roughly 45 degrees to the right. There is evidence of slipping an occasional handprint can be seen on the slope beside the track.

In contrast, trackway C follows a straight line with 10 regular footprints made over a smaller incline. The prints are about 20 centimetres in length and 10 centimetres wide.

"Using the global average foot-length/stature ratio of 15%, the footprints indicate that the people who made them were no taller than 1.5 metres," said the scientists.

The scientists added: "Although the footprints do not show all of the known features of contouring human bipedalism, there are enough similarities to support the idea that they are indeed human and fully bipedal."