Trachilos footprint indicates human ancestors were in Crete six million years ago.
Credit: Andrzej Boczarowski

Scientists say they may have found human footprints in Greece that date back to a time when it is commonly believed our ancestors were still only in Africa, potentially changing our ideas of how the species evolved and dispersed.

The footprints, found embedded in rock in an area called Trachilos on the Greek island of Crete, are 5.7 million years old, according to a study in the journal Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. They “show hominin-like characteristics” — the creature that made the tracks walked on two legs using the soles of its feet; had five toes, with the innermost ones more developed than the outer digits; and did not have any claws. The researchers also noted “the presence of a distinct ball in some of the tracks.”

“Human feet have a very distinctive shape, different from all other land animals,” Uppsala Universitysaid in a report […]