Archeologists discover 90,000 year old human footprints on Moroccan beach

A team of archaeologists has made a remarkable discovery on a beach in northwest Morocco- a track of footprints created by multiple humans approximately 90,000 years ago- according to study published in Scientific Reports. The study was led by Mouncef Sedrati at the University of Southern Brittany in France. The well-preserved fossilized prints were left by a group of at least five early modern humans, near the modern city of Larache.

Utilizing optically stimulated luminescence, researchers accurately dated the footprints to the Late Pleistocene period, also known as the Ice Age.

The discovery was made accidentally during a study of coastal boulders at a nbeach nearby, in 2022.

"We took measurements on-site to determine the length and depth of the prints," Sedrati told the publication Live Science. "Based on the foot pressure and size of the footprints, we were able to determine the approximate age of the individuals, which included children, adolescents and adults."

Morocco is also home to the Jebel Irhoud archaeological site, where scientists discovered the earliest known fossilized remains of homo sapiens, dating back 300,000 years.