In this paper I discuss the potential of archival research (i.e. the reassessment of pictures and drawings) for the identification of hitherto overlooked fossil footprints. All of the most important sites of the Pleistocene sequence of Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) showed evidence of biogenic structures that had escaped attention during the archaeological investigations which started in the 1960s. The case studies described here show that fossil footprints at Melka Kunture occur more frequently than expected. This could encourage archaeologists to be more aware of the possible presence of bioturbated layers in other archaeological contexts and plan specific research accordingly, using Melka Kunture as a reference.

在本文中，我将讨论档案研究在识别迄今被忽视的化石足迹方面的潜力（即，重新评估图片和图纸）。Melka Kunture（埃塞俄比亚上阿瓦什河谷）的更新世序列的所有最重要位置都显示出生物结构的证据，这些结构在1960年代开始的考古调查中已引起人们的注意。这里描述的案例研究表明，Melka Kunture的化石足迹比预期的发生得更频繁。这可能会鼓励考古学家更多地意识到在其他考古环境中可能存在生物扰动层，并据此以Melka Kunture为参考制定相应的具体研究计划。