AI studies 1974 ancient trackways and suggests bird relatives were far older than thought

The tracks are older, but the timing cracks open

Using artificial intelligence to interpret fossilized footprints, researchers analyzed 1,974 previously unclassified trackways. The AI’s pattern recognition points to bird-like relatives appearing millions of years earlier than established evolutionary timelines suggest. If confirmed, the findings could reshape how scientists date early avian ancestors and motivate new fossil track studies to test the revised history.