9 April 2022 | New Scientist | 5The leader
IT WAS out in the desert of New Mexico
that humanity first tested the atomic
bomb, creating an explosion that left
an indelible imprint on our planet.
In the same area, just a few dozen
kilometres south, scientists are now
finding imprints of quite a different
sort: human footprints from the
Stone Age. These tracks don’t have
anything like the historical significance
of the first nuclear test – and that is
precisely why they are so important.
Archaeology often focuses on the
big picture: technological shifts, epic
migrations, the fall of civilisations.
By contrast, the stones and bones
we dig up rarely provide a clear sense
of what everyday life was like for
ordinary people, especially when
it comes to the earliest humans,of whom there is precious little
archaeological evidence anyway.
The footprints being discovered in
White Sands National Park, New Mexico,
are the perfect counterpoint to this
problem. Archaeologists had barely
bothered to look for fossil footprints for
decades, assuming them to be vanishinglyrare. But as we report on page 40, this
particular site is giving the lie to that.
The landscape at White Sands is strewn
with ancient human tracks. What’s more,
analysing details like the size and spacing
of the footprints allows us to recreate
snippets of people’s lives. The storiesare incredible, from the thrill of hunting
a giant ground sloth to the moments of
joy as ancient children splash in muddy
puddles. No other archaeological resource
can give us these kinds of insights.
It is about time that we started more
actively searching for ancient human
prints in other places. It is likely that
they can be found at many other sites
around the world, and it will be fascinating
to see what more can be unearthed.
There is, however, a danger here of
pushing the evidence too far in pursuit
of a good yarn. We can reconstruct the cut
and thrust of an animal hunt, but we must
be careful not to assume we know how
the hunters actually felt. Get this right,
though, and footprints are set to leave
a lasting imprint on our understanding
of our ancient human ancestors. ❚Ancient footprints give a wonderful insight into our ancestors’ personal lives
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