A new study led by scientists from the University of Cambridge and Latrobe University challenges the classification of the Little Foot fossil as Australopithecus Prometheus.
Little Foot fossil in Sterkfontein Cave, central South Africa. Image credit: Purdue University.
Little Foot Fossil was discovered in 1994 in the Sterkfontein cave in central South Africa.
The specimen, also known as StW 573, was named after four small foot bones found in a box of animal fossils that led to the discovery of the skeleton.
In the 2010s, paleoanthropologist Ronald Clark classified Little Foot as a species of hominin called Australopithecus Prometheus.
Others argued that it was Australopithecus africanusa species of hominin first described by Australian anatomist Raymond Dart in 1925 and which was already known from the same location and more widely in South Africa.
But in a new study, La Trobe University researcher Dr Jesse Martin and colleagues found that Little Foot does not share a unique set of traits with any of the species, raising the possibility that it could represent a new species altogether.
“This fossil remains one of the most important discoveries in hominid history, and its true identity is key to understanding our evolutionary past,” Dr. said. – said Martin.
“We think that this is clearly not the case when Australopithecus Prometheus or Australopithecus africanus. Most likely, this is a previously unidentified human relative.”
“Dr Clarke deserves credit for the discovery of Little Foot and for being one of the few to argue that there were two species of hominins at Sterkfontein.”
“Little Foot seems to show that he is right. There are two kinds.”
Forensic reconstruction of another person's face Australopithecus variety – A.. Image credit: Cicero Moraes / CC BY-SA 3.0.
The authors now plan to find out what species Little Foot represents and where the species fits into the human family tree.
“Little Foot was one of the most complete and important fossils ever discovered in terms of what it could tell us about early human diversity and how our ancestors adapted to the different environments of southern Africa,” said Professor Andy Herries, a researcher at Latrobe University and the University of Johannesburg.
“It is clearly different from the standard specimen Australopithecus Prometheusthis name was determined by the idea that these ancient people made fire, which we now know they did not do.”
“Its importance and difference from other modern fossils clearly shows the need to define it as a distinct, unique species.”
The study is described in paper published in the December 2025 issue of the magazine. American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
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Jesse M. Martin etc.. 2025. Fossil StW 573 Little Foot should not be classified as Australopithecus Prometheus. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 188(4): E70177; doi: 10.1002/ajpa.
