Painstaking study of ‘Little Foot’ fossil sheds light on human origins
WILL DUNHAM SOPHISTICATED scanning technology is revealing intriguing secrets about Little Foot, the remarkable fossil of an early human forerunner that inhabited South Africa 3.67 million years ago during a critical juncture in our evolutionary history. Scientists yesterday disclosed that they examined key parts of the nearly complete and well-preserved fossil at Britain's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source. The scanning focused upon Little Foot's cranial vault - the upper part of her braincase - and her lower jaw, or mandible. The researchers gained insight not only into the biology of Little Foot's species but also into the hardships that…