3D Modeling Technique Reconstructs Little Foot's Entire Face After 3.5 Million Years

After nearly 4 million years of anonymity, the most complete skeleton of an ancient human relative ever found finally has a face (or more precisely, facial bones). Scientists have unveiled a 3D digital reconstruction of "Little Foot," an Australopithecus individual whose nearly intact remains have provided a rare view into the dawn of the human lineage.

Published in Publications Scientifique, the reconstruction is the culmination of more than five years of intensive work. While Little Foot’s skeleton is remarkably complete at over 90%, the skull was discovered embedded in a dense rock matrix within South Africa’s Sterkfontein Caves, where the weight of the surrounding sediment over time had crushed and warped the skull. To fix this, an international team led by Amélie Beaudet used synchrotron X-ray imaging at the Diamond Light Source in the UK, which allowed them to peer through the stone at a resolution of 21 ...