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    HomeScienceAncient Footprints Validate Early Human Presence in North America

    Ancient Footprints Validate Early Human Presence in North America

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    Apophis, Horus and Sobek in the tomb of Ramesses III
    Apophis, Horus and Sobek in the tomb of Ramesses III

    A recent scientific breakthrough has provided solid proof that humans trod the landscape of North America much earlier than previously thought. Analysis of ancient footprints in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park confirms human activity in the region during the last Ice Age, a discovery that has profound implications for our understanding of early human migration patterns.

    Ice hummocks
    Ice hummocks

     

    David Wahl, a UC Berkeley adjunct associate professor of geography and a USGS scientist, commented on the magnitude of the discovery, stating, “When the original paper was published in 2021, the authors were very cautious about claiming a paradigm shift, which is what this is all about.” He further pondered, “I mean, if people were here 7,000 years prior to the Clovis culture, why don’t we see more evidence?”

    Iceberg
    Iceberg

    Jeff Pigati, USGS research geologist and co-lead author of the new study, emphasized the rigor of the new analysis, “The immediate reaction in some circles of the archaeological community was that the accuracy of our dating was insufficient to make the extraordinary claim that humans were present in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum. But our targeted methodology in this current research really paid off.”

    Iceberg sphynx in Antarctica-2
    Iceberg sphynx in Antarctica-2

    The presence of humans in the area around 23,000 to 21,000 years ago challenges the long-held “Clovis-first” theory, which posits that the Americas were first peopled around 13,000 years ago by migrants crossing from Siberia through a land corridor exposed by retreating ice sheets.

    Iceberg in Antarctic waters.
    Iceberg in Antarctic waters.

    The White Sands footprints were first noted in 2021, but the dating methods used then, which were based on aquatic plant seeds, faced skepticism from some archaeologists.

    Ice cubes
    Ice cubes

    Critics argued that water absorbed by the seeds could have contained ‘old’ carbon from surrounding materials, leading to inaccurate dates.

    To address these concerns, the latest study employed radiocarbon dating of conifer pollen and optically stimulated luminescence of quartz grains, providing a triangulated dating method that bolstered the original findings.

    countryside
    countryside

    As Kathleen Springer, another USGS geologist and co-lead author, stated, “With three separate lines of evidence pointing to the same approximate age, it is highly unlikely that all are incorrect or biased.”

    selective focus of multicultural biologist doing test with formulas illustration
    selective focus of multicultural biologist doing test with formulas illustration

    Moreover, the footprints present a clearer artifact than ambiguous stone tools often debated among scientists. Vance Holliday, an archaeologist and geologist at the University of Arizona, remarked about the footprints, “It’s just screamingly obvious.”

    pattern of field with vegetables growing on volcanic earth, Lanzarote
    pattern of field with vegetables growing on volcanic earth, Lanzarote

    This groundbreaking research not only pushes the timeline of human presence in the Americas back by over 10,000 years but also offers new insights into the climate and ecology of the area during the Last Glacial Maximum.

    view of rice plant farm
    view of rice plant farm

    Pollen analysis indicates a landscape populated by pine, spruce, and fir, painting a picture of an ecosystem far different from the desert environment there today.

    forest trees.
    forest trees.

    The implications of this evidence are stirring discussions among archaeologists and geologists alike.

    Footbridge in park
    Footbridge in park

    The site at White Sands National Park now stands as a critical piece of the puzzle in tracing the origins of America’s first peoples and promises to invigorate future research into early human activity on the continent.

    Iceberg sphynx in Antarctica-2
    Iceberg sphynx in Antarctica-2

    Kimberly Foecke, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution, reflected on the broader significance of the study, saying, “These results add to the still scant but growing evidence of human presence in the Americas around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum.”

     

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