Ancient Kenyan footprints show extinct hominins traveled in large groups

Researchers analyzed 1.4-million-year-old footprints from a Kenyan lakeshore, identifying eight Paranthropus boisei individuals moving together. The tracks indicate some individuals reached heights up to 1.8 meters and weights around 75 kilograms, larger than previously estimated. This provides rare evidence of social behavior in this extinct human relative.

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The footprints were preserved in sediment along what was once a lakeshore in northern Kenya, capturing a brief moment in time rather than the accumulated remains typical of skeletal fossils. Researchers classified the tracks using analytical methods developed in 2024, relying on anatomical features of the feet and gait patterns to attribute them to Paranthropus boisei.

This species is primarily known from skull specimens featuring massive jaws and teeth, with postcranial remains being extremely scarce. The