18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The oldest trace of human activity discovered in North America dates back 23,000 years

A recent fossil footprint found in New Mexico, the United States, indicates that humans existed in North America about 23,000 years ago.

The footprints have been found in the soil in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park. The US Geological Survey experts have examined the top and bottom layers of the track with the help of radiocarbon dating and found that footprints were formed here during about two thousand years.

Bournemouth University has shared information on the astounding finding of human existence. Until recently, it was thought that humans first appeared on the American continent between 13 and 16 thousand years ago, but new discovery reveals that Homo sapiens arrived considerably earlier, around 23 thousand years ago. This latest discovery is being considered a major archaeological success in the United States.

Dating was done by Drs Jeff Pigati and Kathleen Springer of the US Geological Survey. Kathleen Springer on the subject, “Our dates on the seeds are tightly clustered and maintain stratigraphic order above and below multiple footprint horizons – this was a remarkable outcome.” This corresponds to the height of the last glacial cycle, during something known as the Last Glacial Maximum, and makes them the oldest known human footprints in the Americas,” she said.

Showing the different “time periods” of the last ice age, and before the sand dunes formed, White Sands would have looked like a mix of grasslands and wetlands surrounding the great ancient Lake Otero. Karen Carr
Showing the different “time periods” of the last ice age, and before the sand dunes formed, White Sands would have looked like a mix of grasslands and wetlands surrounding the great ancient Lake Otero. Karen Carr

The footprints tell a fascinating story about life at the period, with the tracks mostly made by teens and younger children, with the rare adult judged by their size. There are also mammoth, gigantic ground sloth, dire wolves, and bird tracks at the site.

The tracks at White Sands were first discovered by David Bustos Resources Manager at the National Park. The team also pioneered non-invasive geophysical techniques to help locate the site.

Tommy Urban, from Cornell University, said, “Detection and imaging with non-destructive technology have greatly expanded our capacity to study these remarkable footprints in their broader context”.

Human Footprints. NPS Photo

Previously, it was assumed that people arrived in America considerably later, following the melting of the North American ice sheets, which opened up migration routes. However, the imprints now suggest that people arrived in the Americas far earlier.

Professor Vance Holliday of the University of Arizona said, “There has been a lot of debate over many years about the first peopling of the Americas with several early sites identified.  Few archaeologists see reliable evidence for sites older than about 16,000 years. The White Sands tracks provide a much earlier date.”  

The research is published in Science.

The research was undertaken by researchers from Bournemouth University, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Cornell University, and the University of Arizona.

Bournemouth University

Related Articles

13th-Century skeletons Unearthed in Annaea Mound

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

At the historical Kadıkalesi archaeological site in Turkey’s western Aydin province’s Kuşadası district, a total of five skeletons thought to...

Bronze Age family systems deciphered: Paleogeneticists analyze 3,800-year-old extended family

31 August 2023

31 August 2023

A Bronze Age family living 3,800 years ago in the Southern Urals may have taken a flexible approach to marriage,...

Scientists Ancient Landscape Not Seen For 14 Million Years Discovered Beneath Antarctic Ice

26 October 2023

26 October 2023

Researchers have uncovered an ancient landscape that remained hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) for at least 14...

12,000-Year-Old rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age

13 March 2022

13 March 2022

South America was filled with ice age animals more than 12,000 years ago, including car-sized ground sloths, elephantine herbivores, and...

The 2800-year-old Urartians Lake, which is an engineering masterpiece of its time, is drying

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

Keşiş Lake in Van, in eastern Turkey, which was built by the Urartu King Rusa 2,800 years ago, was negatively...

Antibiotic bacteria that fight E. coli and other dangerous bugs found in the Roman Baths at Bath in England, “Bath’s waters may really be good for you”

9 June 2024

9 June 2024

The popular Roman Baths in the city of Bath in southwest England are home to a diverse range of microorganisms...

4,000-year-old War Memorial of Banat-Bazi in Syria

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Archaeologists have identified a memorial monument built before 2300 BC in the Banat-Bazi region in Syria. Known as the “White...

Archaeologists Reveal First Settlement of Cimmerians in Anatolia

23 June 2023

23 June 2023

Continuing excavations in Türkiye’s central Kırıkkale province have revealed new findings indicating that Büklükale village was the first settlement of...

A 2700-year-old collection of more than 60 bronze and iron objects found in Bükk in northwestern Hungary

2 October 2024

2 October 2024

An excavation project led by a university team specializing in the Bronze and Iron Ages in Bükk in northwestern Hungary,...

5000-year-old female figurines found in a Ukrainian cave

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

Archaeologists discovered five clay female figurines hidden inside a hole in a wall in Verteba Cave, in the Borshchiv Region...

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc, designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye discovered near Palmachim Beach

5 August 2023

5 August 2023

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye was discovered by a...

Archaeologists unearth 6,000-year-old two monumental mounds containing wooden grave chambers in Germany

16 March 2024

16 March 2024

Archaeologists from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) have uncovered a significant Neolithic burial landscape on...

An Elamite inscription attributed to Xerxes the Great was found at Persepolis

26 February 2022

26 February 2022

During the classification and documentation project of inscribed objects and fragmentary inscriptions in the Persepolis Museum reserves, experts discovered a...

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

19 January 2024

19 January 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a “pharmaceutical production area” supported by a water source during ongoing excavations in the Thracian Ancient City...

Astonishing Find in the Czech Republic: Hikers Discover a 3.7 Kilogram Serbian/Bosnian Gold Treasure

29 April 2025

29 April 2025

A leisurely hike on the slopes of Zvičina Hill in the Czech Republic turned into an extraordinary discovery for two...