Individual toes are visible.

The ball of the foot leaves a distinct rounded impression.

The heel strikes the sediment at an angle that reflects the normal human walking gait.

In some trackways — sequences of connected footprints from a single individual walking in a consistent direction — researchers can measure stride length, step width, and the slight lateral tracking that characterizes different individuals.

These are not abstract data points.

They are the frozen, mineralized record of actual human movement.