human foot, which is much different from the feet of chimpanzees and other non-bipedal beings. The footprint impression has been interpreted as the same as the modern human stride, with the heel striking first and then a weight transfer to the ball of the foot before pushing off the toes. Based on stratigraphic analysis, the findings also provide insight into the climate at the time of the making of the footprints. Pliocene sediments show that the environment was more moist and productive than now. Climate changes that caused a shift from forest to grassland environments have a strong correlation with upright posture and bipedalism in hominins. This could have initiated the evolution to bipedalism of the hominins found at Laetoli. Preservation and conservation In 1979, after the Laetoli footprints were recorded, they were re-buried as a then-novel way of preservation. The site was re-vegetated by acacia trees, which later gave rise to fears over root growth. In mid-1992, a GCI-Tanzanian team investigated this by opening a three-by-three meter trench, which showed that roots had damaged the footprints. However, the part of the trackway unaffected by root growth showed exceptional preservation. The success of the experiment led to an increased practice in reburials for preserving excavated sites. In 1993, measures were taken to prevent erosion. The original trackway was remolded and new casts were made. As the trackway is very fragile, the new replica cast was used to guide re-excavation in the field. A team of specialists, one being Fiona Marshall, re-excavated half of the trackway to record its condition, stabilize the surface, extract dead roots and rebury it with synthetic geotextile materials. This allows the trackway surface to breathe, and protects it against root growth. Proposals for lifting the track and moving it to an enclosed site have been suggested, but the cost is viewed as outweighing the benefits: the process would require much research, a large amount of money, and there is a risk of loss or damage. Thus, burial seems to be the most effective method of preservation. See also Ancient footprints of Acahualinca – late Holocene human footprints found near the shore of Lake Managua in Nicaragua, dating to approximately 2,120 years ago. Eve's footprint – footprints of a single female found at Langebaan, South Africa in 1995, dating to approximately 117,000 years ago. Happisburgh footprints – early Pleistocene fossilized hominid footprints found in a sediment layer