Little Foot
"Little Foot" (Stw 573) is the nickname given to a nearly complete Australopithecus fossil skeleton found in 1994–1998 in the cave system of Sterkfontein, South Africa.
The Little Foot skull | |
| Catalog no. | Stw 573 |
|---|---|
| Common name | Little Foot |
| Species | Australopithecus, species uncertain |
| Age | 3.67 mya |
| Place discovered | Gauteng, South Africa |
| Date discovered | 1994 |
| Discovered by | Ronald J. Clarke |
Originally nicknamed "little foot" in 1995 when four ankle bones in a museum collection were sufficient to ascertain that the individual had been able to walk upright, the remainder of the skeleton was, subsequently, located in the cave from which the ankle bones had been collected.
Because the bones were completely embedded in concrete-like rock, their extremely difficult and tedious extraction took around 15 years. The bones proved to be the most complete skeleton of the early hominin lineage leading to humans, with 90% of the body being recovered.
Dating of the specimen has proved controversial, with estimates ranging from 2.2 to 3.5 million years old, and its taxonomic placement is likewise disputed.