Some very Old Footsteps

In 1976, in Laetoli, Tanzania, Africa, Mary Leakey and her team of paleontologists stumbled—that’s the word the Smithsonian uses—upon animal tracks that, two years later, led to the discovery of two pairs of hominin footprints, fossilized in volcanic ash. The footprints mark a brief segment of a journey of two (or perhaps three) people striding.

The hardened ash dates to 3.6 million years ago, making these footprints the oldest evidence we have for bipedalism—walking on two limbs, not four.

The footprints are not of equal size or span. One of the walkers is much smaller than the other and lags behind. She is hurrying to keep up. Where have they been? Where are they going? Why are they out and afoot? Is it a mother and her child, fleeing a terrible man? Have they been gathering brushwood or berries, things needed for survival, and now are bundling them back to their shelter? Are they visiting a relative? A friend? Are they seeking something beyond themselves, bigger than themselves, someone to thank, to seek consolation from, maybe to worship? All we know is they walked.