Human footprints from the Ice Age found in Morocco

Researchers discovered footprints left behind Homo sapiens About 90 thousand years ago on the beach of Larache, Morocco. These are the oldest human footprints ever identified in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean.

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The footprints go towards the sea

• According to researchers, the footprints were left by at least five people, including children, teenagers and adults.
• This discovery occurred while studying rocks on the Moroccan beach.
• In total, there are 85 brands mainly oriented towards the sea.
• They point out that the inhabitants of that region were searching for marine resources.
• The results of the study were published in the magazine Scientific reports.
• The information is from IFLScience.

Homo sapiens roamed the region during the Ice Age

According to the researchers, the footprints were preserved because they were covered by soft sediments during favorable marine conditions. The location of the beach, which is located on a rocky platform covered with clay deposits, was key to this.

The study revealed two footprints, which were analyzed using optically stimulated scintillation dating. This technique determines the last time metals on or near artifacts were exposed to heat or sunlight.

The fine grains of quartz that make up most beach sand have revealed the presence of… Homo sapiens At the site during the Late Pleistocene, also known as the last Ice Age, which ended about 11,700 years ago.

The site will continue to be studied to try to uncover some mysteries. For example, what were our ancestors doing on the beach during the Ice Age? However, scientists will need to race against time to answer this question and others, as the coastal rock platform collapses, potentially destroying it, as well as any other traces of past human activity in the area.