Thousands of years ago, a stretch of land along the western coast of England served as a “super highway” for both humans and animals. With the ebb and flow of the tides, this ancient pathway is becoming increasingly visible.
Researchers Alison Burns and Jamie Woodward examine 8,500-year-old footprints of animals and humans found in one of the Pleistocene mud layers in England.
The ancient footprints have been discovered along a nearly 3-kilometer stretch of coastline near Formby, England. These footprints indicate that as glaciers melted and sea levels rose after the last Ice Age around 11,700 years ago, humans and animals were forced inland, creating a hub of human and animal activity.
In a new study published in the October issue of the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers identified trails, one of which dates back over 8,000 years, originating from the Paleolithic era (15,000 BCE to 50 BCE) through to the Medieval period (from 476 CE to 1450 CE).
The researchers collected seeds from birch and spruce trees scattered throughout the layers of this ancient route and dated them using radiocarbon methods.
In total, there are about ten “well-preserved” footprints, some of which are superimposed, creating approximately 36 exposed layers. These footprints include not only those of humans but also many extinct animal species such as red deer, wild boar, wolves, lynxes, and cranes.
Among the dozens of footprints discovered in this area, some stand out, particularly because they are the oldest, dating back around 8,500 years. Researchers noted that ancient humans walked barefoot, with mud seeping between their toes, allowing for a detailed study of the footprints’ characteristics. Close by, there are footprints of a crane, suggesting that ancient humans were likely hunting. Additionally, there is a very clear set of footprints from an adult red deer.
However, the discovery of footprints is not unique to this area. A nearby archaeological site revealed human imprints that are 900,000 years old, exposed during a storm in 2013 in Norfolk, located about 400 kilometers southeast of Formby. Nonetheless, the footprints found in Formby are particularly significant as they demonstrate that humans and animals coexisted thousands of years ago.
