What was the significance of Mary Leakey discovery of the Laetoli footprints?

In 1978, Leakey’s 1976 discovery of hominin tracks—”The Laetoli Footprints”—provided convincing evidence of bipedalism in Pliocene hominins and gained significant recognition by both scientists and laymen.

What is the significance of the footprints found at Laetoli?

The Laetoli footprints provide a clear snapshot of an early hominin bipedal gait that probably involved a limb posture that was slightly but significantly different from our own, and these data support the hypothesis that important evolutionary changes to hominin bipedalism occurred within the past 3.66 Myr.

What is the significance of the Laetoli footprints quizlet?

“The Laetoli Footprints” received significant recognition by the public, providing convincing evidence of bipedalism in Pliocene hominids based on analysis of the impressions. The footprints and skeletal structure excavated at Laetoli showed clear evidence that bipedalism preceded enlarged brains in hominids.

What was the key anthropological discovery made at the site of Laetoli?

Mary Leakey and coworkers discovered fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had been unearthed in 1938. The fossils found at Laetoli date to a period between 3.76 and 3.46 million years ago (mya).

Who discovered hominid footprints?

Mary Leakey

In 1976, Peter Jones and Philip Leakey discovered five consecutive bipedal footprints at Laetoli site A within locality 7, a 490 m² area dated to 3.66 million years ago (Ma) and featuring 18,400 animal tracks^1,2,3 (Fig. 1). Mary Leakey tentatively suggested that the trackway was made by a hominin¹.