We report the occurrence at 0.7 million years (Ma) of an ichnological assemblage at Gombore II-2, which is one of several archaeological sites at Melka Kunture in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia, 2000 m asl. Adults and children potentially as young as 12 months old left tracks in a silty substrate on the shore of a body of water where ungulates, as well as other mammals and birds, congregated. Furthermore, the same layers contain a rich archaeological and palaeontological record, confirming that knapping was taking place in situ and that stone tools were used for butchering hippo carcasses at the site. The site gives direct information on hominin landscape use at 0.7 Ma and may provide fresh perspective on the childhood of our ancestors.

In Africa, the scarcity of hominin remains found in direct association with stone tools has hindered attempts to link Homo habilis and Homo erectus with particular lithic industries. The infant mandible discovered in level E at Garba IV (Melka Kunture) on the highlands of Ethiopia is critical to this issue because of its direct association with an Oldowan lithic industry. Here, we used synchrotron imaging to examine the internal morphology of the unerupted permanent dentition and confirmed its identification as H. erectus . Additionally, we used revised paleomagnetic ages to show that (i) the mandible in level E is ~2 million years old and represents one of the earliest H. erectus fossils and that (ii) overlying level D, ~1.95 million years old, contains the earliest known Acheulean assemblage.