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Hominid footprints are particularly appealing and evocative of the living activity of our ancestors. The most famous and oldest (Late Pliocene, ca. 3.7 Ma) hominid footprints, from Laetoli in East Africa, have been attributed, with some uncertainly, to genus Homo or Australopithecus. The African track record also yields Early Pleistocene (∼1.5 Ma) tracks attributable to Homo erectus. The only well-documented Middle Pleistocene tracks (age ∼325,000-385,000 yrs) are reported from Italy and presumably represent a pre-Homo sapiens species. The oldest Late Pleistocene tracks (∼117,000 yrs), from southern Africa, may represent modern humans. However, the majority of Late Pleistocene sites are European, associated with caves in Romania, Greece, France and elsewhere, where hominid track preservation is often of high quality. Dates range from ∼10,000 to ∼62,000 BP Cavesite mammal tracks are almost exclusively those of carnivores, thus representing a distinctive underground ecology. Late Pleistocene open air sites are reported from widely scattered locations in Africa, Turkey, Tibet, Korea, Australia and even in the New World (Chile, Argentina and Mexico). Early to Middle Holocene sites (> ∼4,000 yrs BP) mainly occupy riparian, lacustrine, estuarine and littoral settings where the ichnofaunas are dominated by ungulates and shorebirds. Among these sites from England, Nicaragua, Argentina and Mexico and the United States, a few have been described in some detail. Younger Holocene sites are frequently associated with specified cultural periods (e.g., Neolithic, Bronze Age) or specific indigenous cultures, where supplemental archeological evidence may be directly associated with the footprint evidence. At most surficial and some subterranean hominid tracksites, mammal and/or bird tracks are quite common and of use in creating a paleoecological picture of local faunas. The global distribution of human and hominid tracks is consistent with body fossil evidence and the record of archeological, cultural artifacts. However, in a few cases tracks suggest colonization of certain regions (Tibetan Plateau and the New World) earlier than previously thought. Tracks also give clues to behavior, age and health status of the trackmakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laetoli, a paleoanthropological site in Northern Tanzania, is perhaps best known for its famous fossil hominid footprints that were discovered by Mary Leakey and her co-workers in 1978. The site not only preserves the hominid footprints but also trackways, which provide a snapshot of Pliocene faunal communities from East Africa and their inferred environments. Unlike the hominid footprints at site G, which have received tremendous attention, the animal trackways, especially at Localities 7, 8 and 10 have been neglected and are fast disappearing. In this paper, we discuss animal tracks at a newly discovered exposure and provide preliminary data on the tracks at this exposure and other sites. We also discuss the importance of the animal trackways as ecological indicators, which we have investigated as part of ongoing research and conservation efforts initiated by the Tanzania Field School in Paleoanthropology and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Tanzania Semester Abroad programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the protection and conservation of the world's oldest human footprint. It is suggested that Tanzania intends to build a museum that would protect the 3.7 million-year-old tracks in an ash bed in Laetoli, Tanzania, from erosion. The 5-year-plan to build a museum that is estimated to cost US$25 million, was approved by a 15-member government committee. Archeologist Paul Msemwa, director of the National Museum in Dares Salaam, states that the panel will determine on the specific remedial measures to protect the footprints.

The article reports that the world's oldest hominid footprints stirs a debate among anthropologist concerning the best way to protect and preserve the 3.7 million year old tracks in Tanzania. The concern has been raised by Tanzanian anthropologist concerning the factors that threatens the hundred year-old tracks of footprints at the isolated site called Laetoli. Furthermore, it has also prompted Charles Musiba, anthropologist at the University of Colorado heeds for a creation of a new museum to reveal and display the historic prints.

Reports on a collaborative effort by the Tanzanian government and the Getty Conservation Institute of Santa Monica, California to save a 3.5 million-year-old trail of ancestral human footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania. Conservation plans.