Little Foot fossil might be a whole new human ancestor
Scientists think the famous Little Foot skeleton from South Africa could actually belong to a previously unknown species of ancient human relative.
The fossil, found in 1994 and finally revealed in 2017 after two decades of careful digging, is one of the most complete Australopithecus skeletons ever discovered.
What makes Little Foot special?
Little Foot is about 3.67 million years old and has some unique skull features that set it apart from other known Australopithecus fossils.
Some experts still debate its exact age—some say it might be a bit younger—but for now, the authors of the new study are holding off on giving it an official name, suggesting that the team who excavated and analyzed Little Foot should have the honor.
Why does this matter?
This discovery hints that there were more types of ancient human relatives living at Sterkfontein than we thought.
It also adds a twist to our understanding of how early humans branched off from their ancestors over four million years ago—turns out, our family tree might be even bushier than we imagined!