20,000-year-old footprints show humans have been in the Americas longer than previously thought, scientists say

Mon, 10/09/2023 - 15:50

Human footprints in brownish-white ground at White Sands National Park, New Mexico — Footprints found in White Sands National Park may show that humans were in what is now New Mexico over 20,000 years ago.
National Park Service

In 2021, researchers dated ancient human footprints in New Mexico to at least 20,000 years ago.
Some scientists took issue with the researchers' methods.
New data bolsters the evidence for the original date, among the earliest for humans in the Americas.

In White Sands National Park, New Mexico, mingled among tracks of mammoths, ground sloths, and other ancient animals, researchers found human footprints.

They dated the prints in 2021 to between 20,000 and 23,000 years ago.