Paranthropus boisei footprints offer clues to their size and social dynamics
5:00 PM CDT on July 27, 2026
There are a few oddballs hanging around the branches of the human family tree, and one of them is Paranthropus boisei. While these ancient hominins aren’t direct ancestors of modern humans, they did overlap with at least one, Homo erectus, during their time on Earth. In fact, the two species left footprints 1.4 million years ago in the same prehistoric mudflats located in the Lake Turkana basin in what’s Kenya today. Now, new research into those P. boisei footprints published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is shedding light on this mysterious relative.
Compared to H. erectus (and modern humans), P. boisei looked a lot more simian. Massive jaw muscles, a pronounced brow ridge, and flared cheekbones gave its face an orangutan-like quality. It also had a more robust build, with an ape-like upper body and thick leg bones. P. boisei was thought to be the shorter of the two species as well, but the findings of this latest study suggest that’s not necessarily the case.
Read more: “Portrait of the Human as a Young Hominin”
