Why did the ash harden like cement?

Rain wetted it before it dried hard

What does the big toe position reveal?

It lined up with the other toes

Laetoli Footprints Quiz: Ancient Hominins Walking Upright

This laetoli footprints quiz follows a trail pressed into volcanic ash. Play 10 interactive questions on footprints about 3.6 million years old, Mary Leakey's team in the late 1970s, ash from a nearby volcano dampened by rain, a trail tens of meters long, likely made by Australopithecus afarensis, clues of heel, arch and big toe and reburial to protect them.

Start Laetoli Footprints Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Country
In which country are the Laetoli footprints?
Age
About how old are the footprints?
Leader
Whose team uncovered the hominin trail?
Ash
What material preserved the prints?
Set
Why did the ash harden like cement?
Who
Which species likely made the prints?
Upright
What do the footprints show?
Toe
What does the big toe position reveal?
Arch
Which foot feature can be seen in the prints?
Protect
How were the prints protected after study?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which country are the Laetoli footprints?
Answer: Tanzania
In East Africa.
Q2: About how old are the footprints?
Answer: 3.6 million years
Very ancient.
Q3: Whose team uncovered the hominin trail?
Answer: Mary Leakey
In the late 1970s.
Q4: What material preserved the prints?
Answer: Volcanic ash
Dampened by rain.
Q5: Why did the ash harden like cement?
Answer: Rain wetted it before it dried hard
Then more ash covered it.
Q6: Which species likely made the prints?
Answer: Australopithecus afarensis
Like Lucy.
Q7: What do the footprints show?
Answer: Upright walking on two feet
A human-like gait.
Q8: What does the big toe position reveal?
Answer: It lined up with the other toes
Like ours.
Q9: Which foot feature can be seen in the prints?
Answer: An arch
Efficient walking.
Q10: How were the prints protected after study?
Answer: They were reburied
Casts were made.

Steps Pressed Into Ash

At Laetoli in Tanzania, a trail of footprints shows hominins walking upright about 3.6 million years ago. Mary Leakey's team uncovered the trackway in the late 1970s, a discovery that transformed the study of human origins.

The prints were made in fresh volcanic ash from a nearby volcano. Rain wetted the ash, which then set hard like cement and was covered by more ash, preserving the steps. The trail runs for tens of meters.

The footprints were likely made by Australopithecus afarensis, the species of Lucy. They show a heel strike, an arch and a big toe lined up with the other toes, like ours, proving upright walking. After study the prints were reburied to protect them, and casts let people see them today.

What This Quiz Teaches

Science fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the prints are
How old they are
How they were preserved
Who made them
What they show

Did You Know?

Animal tracks were found at the site too.
Raindrop marks were preserved.
Some prints overlap others.
New footprints were found in 2015.
Scientists still debate group size.