NEWSastounding: They could be the
oldest evidence of human set-
tlement in North America.Seeds of Proof
Analysis of the footprints
reveals that many belonged
to teenagers and young chil-
dren. Researchers led by geo-
scientist Matthew Bennett
of Bournemouth University,B
etween 21,000 and
23,000 years ago, a
group of people walked
along a lakeshore in
what is now White Sands
National Park, New Mexico.
The body of water dried up
about 10,000 years ago, but
their footprints remained.
A recent study of the foot-
prints has revealed somethingWe r e Hu ma n s i n Nor t h
America Before the Ice Age?
New analysis of fossilized footprints^ in^ New^ Mexico’s^ White^ Sands^
National Park challenges^ theories^ about^ the^ peopling^ of^ the^ Americas.^PALEOLITHIC MIGRATIONEngland, who published their
study in the journal Science,
believe the discovery could
recalibrate when humans first
began living in North America,
one of the biggest questions in
paleo-anthropology.
The researchers identified
61 sets of human tracks formed
in soft mud and preserved
in seven layers. Seeds of an6 MARCH/APRIL 2022NEW MEXICOSanta FeCOLORADOTEXAS
MEXICOWhite Sands
National ParkWHITE SANDS Na-
tional Park, in southern
New Mexico, is the
world’s largest gypsum
dune field, formed
when ancient Lake
Otero evaporated.
It includes 80,
acres layered with
thousands of human
and animal footprints.NG^ M
APS
PHOTO: DAN ODESSMANY SETS OF HUMAN FOOTPRINTS
HAVE BEEN FOUND AT WHITE SANDS
NATIONAL PARK, NEW MEXICO. ONE
GROUP MAY BE 21,000 TO 23,
YEARS OLD—PUSHING BACK THE
DATE FOR HUMAN HABITATION IN
THE AMERICAS.