Preservation of the Laetoli hominid trackway in Tanzania

Abstract

AbstractAbstractThe Laetoli hominid footprints in northwestern Tanzania are of major importance in understanding the evolution of humankind. The tracks are 3.6 million years old and pre-date the development of tool-making by one million years, providing clear evidence of the precedence of bipedalism over evolution of the brain. The site was excavated in the late 1970s by Mary Leakey, documented and reburied. In subsequent years, re-vegetation occurred and damage from root growth resulted. Of particular interest in relation to reburial as a preservation strategy is the fact that serious damage occurred to a unique scientific and cultural site because subsequent monitoring and maintenance of the reburial were not carried out. This paper presents an overview of the strategy developed between 1992 and 1994 for the preservation of the trackway, which takes into consideration the many and complex requirements of preserving outdoor sites, and describes the re-excavation, conservation, documentation and reburial of the southern 10m of the trackway completed in the 1995 field season.