VOA慢速英语 古足印让专家时光倒流

　　VOICE TWO:

　　Early humans made the footprints as they walked on volcanic ash and soil that turned to rock over time. The team found two sets of prints in separate levels of rock that are about one million five hundred thousand years old.

　　The scientists say the prints were left by one of two human ancestors: either Homo erectus or Homo ergaster. However, many experts do not recognize a difference between the two. Homo erectus is the more commonly used name.

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Surprisingly, the footprints look much like those you would find on a sandy coastline today. In their report, the team said the discovery provides the oldest evidence of a foot structure that is generally the same as a modern human's.

　　The prints show how the big toe of Homo erectus is close to the other toes. In earlier species, the big toe is separated widely from the other toes -- as in the foot structure of apes. No Homo erectus foot bones have ever been found. This makes the well-preserved footprints especially valuable.

　　VOICE TWO:

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