Nature Study Ties Burtele Foot to A. deyiremeda, Reveals Coexistence With A. afarensis

Overview

• New teeth and a juvenile mandible from Woranso‑Mille allow secure attribution of the 3.4‑million‑year‑old Burtele foot to Australopithecus deyiremeda, resolving a puzzle first reported in 2009.
• The site provides clear evidence that A. deyiremeda and A. afarensis occupied the same landscape at the same time, documenting rare sympatry between closely related hominins.
• Foot anatomy indicates an opposable big toe and bipedal push‑off from the second toe in A. deyiremeda, in contrast to the fully terrestrial, human‑like feet of A. afarensis.
• Carbon‑isotope analyses show A. deyiremeda fed primarily on C3 woodland resources, whereas A. afarensis had a more C4‑inclusive diet consistent with open habitats.
• The findings, published in Nature, portray early hominin locomotion as a mosaic of experiments rather than a single linear route toward modern bipedalism.