Charles Helm - Ancient human tracks on South Africa’s west coast: 3 reasons they are an exciting find
It’s been 27 years since geologist David Roberts identified some of the oldest footprints of our species ever discovered. The trackway of three footprints was found on the surface of a cemented sand dune (called an aeolianite) near Langebaan on South Africa’s west coast. The tracks were later dated to 117,000 years and were attributed to Homo sapiens; they became popularly known as “Eve’s footprints”. They were airlifted to Cape Town, where they are housed in the Iziko South Africa Museum. A replica is on exhibit at the Geelbek Visitor Centre in the West Coast National Park. There has been international debate since then about whether or not “Eve’s footprints” really were human tracks, due to their relatively poor level of preservation.
No further fossilised human tracks have been discovered in the area since then – but a recent find by our research team, also near Langebaan, changes this. These two tracks, discovered in what is today the ceiling of a small cave, are a remarkable find for three reasons. The first is that modern graffiti on aeolianite surfaces in the area around Langebaan area is prolific. In fact, graffiti was present just inches away from “Eve’s footprints”. A potential fossilised human tracksite on the Cape south coast near Knysna, more than 400 km to the east, was defaced by graffiti before it could be scientifically assessed ….
