"Little Foot, a fossil found in South Africa in the 1990s, is the most complete Australopithecus skeleton ever discovered, giving researchers the clearest picture we have of what these ancient hominins looked like. Little Foot's face, however, has long eluded characterization—the fossil's skull was smashed in after an estimated 3.67 million years in the ground."
"The results show that Little Foot's skull had large eye sockets and, interestingly, resembled that of other Australopithecus fossils that were uncovered elsewhere on the African continent. The reconstruction, which was published on Monday in Comptes Rendus Palevol, took five years, according to lead author Amelie Beaudet, a paleoanthropologist at the Laboratory Paleontology Evolution Paleoecosystems Paleoprimatology."
Little Foot is the most complete Australopithecus fossil skeleton ever discovered, found in South Africa in the 1990s. This ancient hominin lived more than two million years ago in Africa. While Lucy remains the most famous Australopithecus fossil, Little Foot provides the clearest picture of what these early human ancestors looked like. The fossil's skull was damaged after approximately 3.67 million years underground, making facial characterization impossible until now. Using computer reconstruction technology over five years, scientists led by paleoanthropologist Amelie Beaudet successfully reconstructed Little Foot's face. The reconstruction reveals large eye sockets and striking similarities to other Australopithecus fossils discovered across the African continent, published in Comptes Rendus Palevol.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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