These footprints confirm that humans were in North America several millenia earlier than previously

These footprints confirm that humans were in North America several millenia earlier than previously thought

Published: Oct. 06, 2023, 5:12 p.m.



By Robert Higgs, cleveland.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Researchers say they have confirmed that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are likely the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, dating thousands of years before what was previously believed to be the time humans arrived.

The footprints discovered at the edge of an ancient lake bed in White Sands National Park date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.

That’s considerably earlier than once-conventional wisdom, which set the arrival of humans in North America about 15,000 years ago, shortly before rising sea levels covered the land bridge between Russia and Alaska

The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake — which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years, The Associated Press reported.

More:
https://www.cleveland.com/science/2023/10/these-footprints-confirm-that-humans-were-in-north-america-several-millenia-earlier-than-previously-thought.html