Fossilized human footprints at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, are independently dated to 21,000–23,000 years ago, making them the oldest known human footprints in North America. The trackways record repeated activity by multiple people over thousands of years, including children and adolescents. Their pre-Clovis age pushes back the timeline for early human presence in the Americas but does not rule out migration through Beringia. Erosion continues to reveal tracks while also putting them at risk. 👣
White Sands footprints confirm human presence in North America 21,000–23,000 years ago
CanadaGeneralNew Research
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Key facts
- White Sands National Park is in New Mexico, North America—not South America.
- The footprints are dated to 21,000–23,000 years ago and are the oldest known fossil human footprints in North America.
- Researchers disputed the initial dating, but independent age estimates later resolved the controversy.
- The trackways record repeated activity by multiple people over thousands of years, including children and adolescents.
- The pre-Clovis date pushes back the timeline for human presence in the Americas but does not itself disprove a Beringia crossing.
- Erosion exposes additional footprints while also threatening to erase them.
Sources
independent.academia.edu
Linked in video description
Study confirms age of oldest fossil human footprints in North Americausgs.gov
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by JS Pigati · 2023 · Cited by 92 — In 2021, fossilized footprints from White Sands National Park in New Mexico were dated to between 20,000 and 23,000 years ago, providing key ...
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