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. 2014 Feb 7;9(2):e88329.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088329. eCollection 2014.

Hominin footprints from early Pleistocene deposits at Happisburgh, UK

Nick Ashton  1 , Simon G Lewis  2 , Isabelle De Groote  3 , Sarah M Duffy  4 , Martin Bates  5 , Richard Bates  6 , Peter Hoare  7 , Mark Lewis  8 , Simon A Parfitt  9 , Sylvia Peglar  10 , Craig Williams  11 , Chris Stringer  8
Affiliations

Hominin footprints from early Pleistocene deposits at Happisburgh, UK

Nick Ashton et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Investigations at Happisburgh, UK, have revealed the oldest known hominin footprint surface outside Africa at between ca. 1 million and 0.78 million years ago. The site has long been recognised for the preservation of sediments containing Early Pleistocene fauna and flora, but since 2005 has also yielded humanly made flint artefacts, extending the record of human occupation of northern Europe by at least 350,000 years. The sediments consist of sands, gravels and laminated silts laid down by a large river within the upper reaches of its estuary. In May 2013 extensive areas of the laminated sediments were exposed on the foreshore. On the surface of one of the laminated silt horizons a series of hollows was revealed in an area of ca. 12 m(2). The surface was recorded using multi-image photogrammetry which showed that the hollows are distinctly elongated and the majority fall within the range of juvenile to adult hominin foot sizes. In many cases the arch and front/back of the foot can be identified and in one case the impression of toes can be seen. Using foot length to stature ratios, the hominins are estimated to have been between ca. 0.93 and 1.73 m in height, suggestive of a group of mixed ages. The orientation of the prints indicates movement in a southerly direction on mud-flats along the river edge. Early Pleistocene human fossils are extremely rare in Europe, with no evidence from the UK. The only known species in western Europe of a similar age is Homo antecessor, whose fossil remains have been found at Atapuerca, Spain. The foot sizes and estimated stature of the hominins from Happisburgh fall within the range derived from the fossil evidence of Homo antecessor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Map of Pleistocene footprint sites dating from prior to 40 ky in Africa and Eurasia.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Location of Happisburgh.
a. Map of UK showing location of Happisburgh; b. Plan of Happisburgh Site 3, exposed and recorded foreshore sediments, location of footprint surface and of borehole HC; c. Schematic cross-section of recorded sediments from Happisburgh Site 3 through to borehole HC showing stratigraphic position of footprint surface. Beds h–k are shown for borehole HC as recorded by West .
Figure 3
Figure 3. Photographs of Area A at Happisburgh.
a. View of Area A and borehole HC from cliff top looking south. b. View of Area A from cliff top looking south. Photos: Martin Bates.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Photographs of Area A at Happisburgh.
a. View of footprint surface looking north. b. View of footprint surface looking south, also showing underlying horizontally bedded laminated silts. Photos: Simon Parfitt.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Photographs of Area A at Happisburgh.
a. Footprint surface looking north-east. b. Detail of footprint surface. Photos: Martin Bates.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Measurements of the surface hollows in Area A at Happisburgh.
a. Plot of length and width measurements of 155 hollows on recorded surface with line of regression; b. Histogram of 155 recorded hollows showing width/length ×100.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Vertical image of Area A at Happisburgh with model of footprint surface produced from photogrammetric survey with enlarged photo of footprint 8 showing toe impressions.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Vertical image of Area A at Happisburgh.
a. Model of footprint surface generated from photogrammetric survey showing the 12 prints used in the metrical analyses of footprint size; b. Plot of length and width measurements of 12 prints showing possible individuals. Means and standard deviations for foot length and age for modern populations are also shown.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Vertical image of Area A at Happisburgh.
a. Model of footprint surface produced from photogrammetric survey showing the prints used in the analyses of footprint orientation and direction; b. Rose diagram showing orientation data for 49 prints; c. Rose diagram showing direction of movement for 29 prints.
Figure 10
Figure 10. Area A showing the recorded surface area with footprints highlighted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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