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Our ancient (cổ xưa) hominid (họ người) ancestors (tổ tiên) may have taken up residence in the Iberian Peninsula around 295,800 years ago, according to a new analysis (phân tích) of footprints (dấu chân) found on a beach in Andalusia. Originally discovered in June 2020, the prints were first thought to have been made by Neanderthals about 106,000 years ago, yet the new evaluation suggests that they may have been left by an earlier species of human.

The tracks are imprinted (in dấu, ghi khắc) into a layer of sediment (trầm tích) within the Asperillo cliff (vách đá) in Matalascañas, and appear to have been made by at least three individuals, including a child aged six to eight years. More than 300 footprints have been discovered so far, and the fact that they lead towards a series of animal tracks suggests that they may have been left by hunters.

Despite the prints’ remarkable state of preservation, researchers say they can’t reliably attribute them to a specific hominid species because their anatomical features are not detailed enough. However, original estimates of the footprints’ age suggested that they came from the Upper Pleistocene, when Neanderthals inhabited the region.

To test this assumption, the authors of a new study re-calculated the ages of four sediment samples using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence. Results showed that the material was in fact significantly older than first thought, and originated in the Middle Pleistocene.

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