(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists have reported that 257 80,000-year-old footprints found at the Le Rozel archaeological site in France contain important information about the life and growth of Neanderthals.
Neanderthals were shorter than a man and their height was 150-160 centimeters, at least that’s what science says, but some traces were left by a man 175 centimeters tall.
The footprints date back to about 80,000 years ago and are preserved in the sandy mud. Most of the prints were of children and may indicate that Neanderthals may have been taller than previously thought.
To date, no hominin skeletal remains have been found at this site, although researchers cannot be certain that the 80,000-year-old footprints at Le Rozel were left by Neanderthals.
It’s just that science has no other candidates, since it is believed that Neanderthals were the only hominins known in Europe at that time, and Homo sapiens appeared 35,000 years later.
Neanderthal footprints are wider than those of modern humans because they have larger feet. From the size of the prints at Le Roselle, researchers can determine the size and age of the person who made them.
Impressions at Le Rozel were found in five different sedimentary layers. The researchers focused on a specific layer, covering 80% of the total number of prints and covering an area of 92 square meters.
The analysis showed that more than 90% of the prints were made by children and teenagers, with the youngest of them being about 2 years old.
There was a small group here, perhaps 10-13 people, but it is difficult to say what the children were doing when they left these footprints.
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