August 27, 2007 | David F. Coppedge

Tales of Two Footprints

Footprints in the sands of time have been found at two different locations.  What tales do they tell?
    One is a footprint of a Roman soldier.  EurekAlert described how the sandal print was uncovered at Hippos, or Susita, on a hill east of the Sea of Galilee.  It hints that soldiers participated in building the walls of the city.  The Israel newspaper Haaretz contained some more details about the find, and Todd Bolen commented on its limited tie-in to Biblical history on his Bible Places Blog.
    Another print is claimed to be far older.  The BBC News reported what may be the “oldest human footprint ever found.”  The article did not describe the print, but called it “human” instead of ape-like.  The problem is that it is claimed to be two million years old, or more – as much as 3 million, maybe even older than Lucy.  The secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, is calling it possibly “the most important discovery in Egypt.”  Others are not so sure what to think of it.

You, too, could leave tracks that will allow future scientists to speculate.  For fun, leave a note with your next footprint saying, “Today’s date is August 28, 1,598,251 BC.”

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Categories: Early Man, Fossils

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