Scientists have finally solved the mystery surrounding a 3.4-million-year-old fossil called the ‘Burtele Foot’, which was discovered in Ethiopia in 2009.
According to a recent discovery, the foot belonged to a mysterious human ancestor, reshaping the timeline of human evolution.
According to researchers, the fossils, characterized by eight foot bones, belonged to the species Australopithecus deyiremeda, demonstrating the combination of both human-like and ape-like features.
These fossils also demonstrated the coexistence of two closely related hominins, as both species, Australopithecus deyiremeda and Australopithecus afarensis, including Lucy, lived in the same place and time.
According to observations, two species consumed different plant-based diets and walked differently.
The diet of Lucy’s species consisted of a broad spectrum diet, including grass-based foods, trees, shrubs, nuts and fruits.
On the contrary, the diet of Australopithecus deyiremeda was limited to only shrubs and trees.
The new findings, published in the journal Naturefurther deepens the mystery surrounding the period of human evolution that occurred 300,000 years ago, long before the evolution of Homo sapiens.
According to paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, “They provide us with the most compelling evidence showing that Australopithecus afarensis – Lucy’s species – was not the only human ancestor to live between 3.5 and 3.3 million years ago.”
Australopithecus afarensis may have gained a competitive advantage by eating a wider variety of foods
On the other hand, Naomi Levin, the co-author of the study, said: “But we also have to take it into account. If it was Australopithecus deyiremeda that somehow had the edge, forcing Australopithecus afarensis to broaden its feeding strategy… then we are that much closer to solving this puzzle of coexistence.”
