Researchers find 300,000 year old human footprints in Germany

Scientists in Schöningen near Lower Saxony have made a sensational discovery, that of the oldest human footprints in Germany. They are said to be more than 300,000 years old and come from the extinct species Homo heidelbergensis.

The Senckenberg research institute and natural museums in Frankfurt am Main announced the find. According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the discovery site in Schöningen in the Helmstedt district in Lower Saxony "is considered to be unique in the world because of its fossils".

In addition to the footprints that have now been discovered, researchers have found the almost complete fossil remains of a Eurasian forest elephant and parts of a saber-toothed cat in the archaeological site complex in recent years.

The archaeological site in Schöningen became particularly famous for the "Schöninger spears" found between 1994 and 1998, which are the world's oldest and completely preserved wooden weapons in the history of mankind. They are exhibited together with other finds in the "palaeon", the research museum in Schöningen, which opened in 2013.

A total of three footprints have now been found near what was then a lake, two of which are said to be those of young people. The researchers suspect that the individuals belonged to a small group with a mixed age structure.

Photo: Senckenberg

The three human footprints today would have a shoe size of 37, 33 and 27. The adult Homo heidelbergensis had a height of up to 1.70 meters and a body weight of 50 to 60 kg.

Photo: Senckenberg

Homo heidelbergensis is an ancestor of the Neanderthals. This type of prehistoric man originally came from Africa, but it got its Latin name because the first bones were found in 1907 in a sand pit near Heidelberg.

The group whose footprints were discovered in Schöningen is said to have lived by the lake and fed on plants, fruits, shoots, mushrooms and leaves.

Photo: Senckenberg / Watercolor by Benoît Clarys

According to the researchers, the finds make it clear that the group of people stayed on the shallow water banks of lakes and rivers, according to the North German Broadcasting Corporation (NDR).

Photo: Screenshot Youtube, Senckenberg

According to the researchers, the traces show a snapshot of the group's everyday family life. "Due to the footprints left by children and young people, it is probably more of a family outing than a group of adult hunters," says Dr. Flavio Altamura (photo), one of the leading researchers in the Schöninger footprints team.

Photo: Screenshot YouTube, Senckenberg

The human footprints are surrounded by other footprints, including forest elephants and rhinos. This gives the researchers a picture of the prevailing ecosystem at the time.

Photo: Screenshot Youtube / Senckenberg

The elephant tracks found near the human tracks are said to belong to the extinct species Palaeoloxodon antiquus. These were the largest land animals of the time: the bulls could weigh up to 13 tons.

Photo: Senckenberg

Dr Jordi Serangeli, director of the Schöningen excavation, reports: "One trace is also from a rhino - Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis or Stephanorhinus hemitoechus - and is the first footprint of this species from the Pleistocene found in Europe."

Photo: Senckenberg

Falko Mohrs, Science Minister of Lower Saxony, said of the site that it was a "treasure for science" and a window into the everyday life of people in the early days.

The finds could provide information about the social composition of the human group and their interaction with other living beings in this common habitat.

By the way: the world's oldest traces of a biped were found near Trachilos on the Greek island of Crete and dated to be over six million years old. However, it is unclear who left the footprints. Researchers speak of a creature that walks on two legs, which could possibly be an as yet unknown ancestor of humans.

Photo: Pixabay / fietzfotos