Ancient footprints left by a hominid near a lake in Kenya are giving scientists an unusually detailed look at human evolution. Researchers studying a newly expanded set of fossil footprints found that some of the individuals who crossed the muddy shoreline about 1.43 million years ago may have reached nearly 180 centimeters (about 5 feet 11 inches) in height.
The discovery also suggests these ancient relatives walked together in a lakeside environment shared with hippos, birds, and other large animals.
The study was led by Kevin G. Hatala and examined fossil footprints preserved at the GaJi10 site in the Koobi Fora Formation near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya.
The footprints were first discovered in the late 1970s, but new excavations in 2016 and 2023 uncovered many more tracks, giving researchers a much larger sample to analyze.
Scientists documented 21 hominin footprints, including 14 that had never been exposed before. The tracks likely came from at least eight individuals who walked across soft mud along the edge of an ancient lake. Most of them moved in the same westward direction, while only one individual appeared to travel the opposite way.
Footprints point to surprisingly large individuals
The researchers estimated body size by measuring the footprints and comparing them with known relationships between foot size, height, and body mass.
Depending on which ancient human species made the tracks, the tallest individual may have stood about 180 centimeters. Several of the estimated body sizes exceeded the average values previously calculated from fossil skeletons of Paranthropus boisei.
If the tracks belonged to that species, researchers say it would greatly expand current understanding of how large these hominids could grow.
The footprints may also belong to Homo erectus, another human ancestor known to have lived in the same region at roughly the same time. Under that interpretation, the estimated heights and body masses still fall toward the larger end of the known range for the species but remain broadly consistent with previous fossil evidence.
The researchers say the current evidence favors Paranthropus boisei, although they cannot rule out Homo erectus. They also acknowledge the possibility, however unlikely, that the footprints belonged to an as-yet unidentified hominid species.
Ancient footprints preserve more than body size
Unlike bones, footprints capture a brief moment in time. They record how individuals moved across the landscape within hours or days rather than averaging evidence collected over thousands of years.
The GaJi10 tracks show that the ancient walkers moved at slow speeds across shallow water near the edge of a stable lake. The impressions also preserve details of how their feet functioned during walking.
Ancient footprints found near Kenya's Lake Turkana reveal that a hominid living about 1.4 million years ago may have stood nearly 180 cm tall. The fossil tracks also suggest multiple individuals walked together along an ancient lakeshore, offering a snapshot of early human life. pic.twitter.com/U1x6K1UA8S
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) July 28, 2026
Researchers found that the footprints had flatter arches and a more outward-pointing big toe than those of modern humans. These features resemble other fossil footprints previously linked to Paranthropus boisei and differ from footprints thought to belong to Homo erectus.
Those differences suggest the ancient hominids walked with a slightly different foot motion than people do today. Their feet may have been more flexible and functioned differently while pushing off the ground.
Clues to behavior along an ancient shoreline
The footprint surface preserves more than human ancestors. Researchers also identified 146 animal tracks, including those of hippopotamuses, bovids, birds and horses. Together, the tracks paint a picture of a busy lakeshore filled with wildlife about 1.43 million years ago.
Because several large individuals appeared to walk in the same direction without stepping on each other’s footprints, the researchers suggest they may have been moving together. If the tracks belong to Paranthropus boisei, the evidence could indicate that multiple adult males tolerated one another and possibly traveled as part of the same social group.
The lakeshore itself may have been an attractive place to forage. Wetland plants, shellfish, and other aquatic resources would have been available there. Earlier archaeological discoveries nearby also show that ancient hominids used the area repeatedly, making it an important part of their environment.
New evidence for life in ancient East Africa
The findings add to growing evidence that Paranthropus boisei and Homo erectus lived side by side in the same landscapes of East Africa. Rather than competing so intensely that one species excluded the other, researchers say both may have successfully shared lakeside habitats for hundreds of thousands of years by using resources in different ways.
The newly uncovered footprints provide one of the clearest snapshots yet of that ancient world. Beyond revealing the possibility of a hominid nearly 180 centimeters tall, the tracks capture how these early human relatives walked, where they traveled, and how they may have lived together on the shores of a Kenyan lake nearly 1.4 million years ago.
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