the Laetoli fossil site in northern Tanzania

Artist's recreation of photograph of a hominid footprint from Laetoli.

Laetoli is a site in Tanzania, dated to the Plio–Pleistocene. It is famous for its hominin footprints, preserved in volcanic ash. The site of the Laetoli footprints is 45 km south of Olduvai gorge. It was excavated by archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey in 1978. “The Laetoli Footprints” got a lot of attention from the public because they are convincing evidence of bipedalism in Pliocene hominins.