Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: FuzzyUK on 05/05/2010 21:58:55

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: FuzzyUK on 05/05/2010 21:58:55

I came across these footprints recently embedded in some rocks near Siwa in Egypt, and not far from the Libyan border. Any ideas?

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fusniak.co.uk%2Fimages_egypt2010%2FIMG_9819b.jpg&hash=4678e197291f53c9a1296c946a12e17c)

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: Bass on 05/05/2010 22:20:22

FINALLY!  Evidence that Bigfoot lived during the Carboniferous [:o]

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: Bass on 05/05/2010 22:23:10

Who knows!  The footprints cut across the strata in the rock, meaning that they post-date the rock formation.  My guess is that someone carved these in the not too distant past

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: JimBob on 07/05/2010 16:29:00

WELLLL ..   lets get reasonable here.

I have not been on my large steam-powered computer for a while, banging along on my lap top. Now that I am viewing this on my 10x20 meter wall screen, my considered opinion is that this is not a rock, but a dried out, hard siltstone. If you look closely there are ripple marks running perpendicular to the foot prints. I will lay good odds that this was closet to a former water-hole and these footprints were formed about 13,000 to 15,000 years ago,when the Sahara dried out. In fact, if this is in the Siwa Oasis proper, it is certainly a recently formed impression of feet.

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: RD on 07/05/2010 19:11:18

More contrast...
 
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Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: FuzzyUK on 12/05/2010 23:06:22

Quote

I will lay good odds that this was closet to a former water-hole and these footprints were formed about 13,000 to 15,000 years ago,when the Sahara dried out. In fact, if this is in the Siwa Oasis proper, it is certainly a recently formed impression of feet.

Well they might be the oldest human footprints ever found, a few million years old:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6956902.stm

http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=561569

Title: How old are these footprints?
Post by: JimBob on 12/05/2010 23:33:10

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was only aware of the Lucy-like prints and they are older - 3.6 MM years. Homo sapiens  are believed to evolved only 200,000 years ago. So if these foot prints are 2 MM years old, they would be better described as human-like.