Fossilized Footprints dating to ~23k years ago, White Sands, NM

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In summary, the new White Sands research confirms that people have been living in North America for at least 23,000 years, and that people were living with the ice age megafauna much longer than previously known.
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Astronuc
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https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/fossilized-footprints.htm
How long have humans been living in the Tularosa Basin? The latest research from White Sands confirms for the first time that humans have been living in North America for at least 23,000 years - many thousands of years older than previously thought. This research also confirms that people were living with the ice age megafauna much longer than previously known.

The new dates of the human presence were discovered by digging a trench in the gypsum soil on the park's western playa. Human footprints were found at different depths below the surface. Above and below these nearly discovered human footprints were ancient grass seeds (Ruppia cirrhosa). These seeds were analyzed using radiocarbon dating, and calibrated dates of 22,860 (∓320) and 21,130 (∓250) years ago were revealed.

https://phys.org/news/2021-09-fossil-footprints-humans-populated-americas.html
Our discovery may also reopen speculation about other archaeological sites in the Americas. One of them is Chiquihuite Cave in Mexico. Archaeologists recently claimed that evidence from this cave suggests humans occupied the Americas around 30,000 years ago—7,000 years before people left the White Sands footprints.

But the Chiquihuite Cave findings are disputed by some, as stone tools can be difficult to interpret and tool-like stones can form via natural processes. Stone tools can also move between layers of sediment and rock. Fossil footprints can't. They are fixed on a bedding plane, and so provide more reliable evidence of exactly when humans left them.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7586 (subscription needed for full article)

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02597-1

Edit/update: I realized yesterday evening that the time period predates the Bonneville and Missoula floods. These people, or rather their descendents, would have witnessed dramatic changes.
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70217223
 
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Astronuc said:
Edit/update: I realized yesterday evening that the time period predates the Bonneville and Missoula floods. These people, or rather their descendents, would have witnessed dramatic changes.
It even predates the most recent ice age that gave cause to those floods.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age#Recent_glacial_and_interglacial_phases
During the most recent North American glaciation, during the latter part of the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000 to 13,300 years ago), ice sheets extended to about 45th parallel north. These sheets were 3 to 4 kilometres (1.9 to 2.5 mi) thick.

And maybe/maybe not predates the Bering Sea Land Bridge which enters into some theories about how early humans got here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beringia
The last glacial period, commonly referred to as the "Ice Age", spanned 125,000[24]–14,500 YBP[25] and was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age, which occurred during the last years of the Pleistocene era.[24] The Ice Age reached its peak during the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets began advancing from 33,000 YBP and reached their maximum limits 26,500 YBP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 19,000 YBP and in Antarctica approximately 14,500 years YBP, which is consistent with evidence that glacial meltwater was the primary source for an abrupt rise in sea level 14,500 YBP[25] and the bridge was finally inundated around 11,000 YBP.[12] The fossil evidence from many continents points to the extinction of large animals, termed Pleistocene megafauna, near the end of the last glaciation.
 
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DrDu said:
Interesting, just some days ago I read this article
Fascinating, thanks for posting this. I wouldn't be surprised if future research doesn't conclude multiple time frames as well as locations and transportation methods already considered. For example tracing the "sea route" along the shoreline is very problematic due to sea level rise, complicated by "unloading/rebound" of the mentioned ice sheets as they melted. It's also possible, but unlikely that some of the S. Pacific peoples got lucky and pulled off a trans-pacific voyage at some point, they were amazing navigators as well as very able sailors.

I'm working on comparing the estimated arrival dates in the paper you posted with research done in central as well as south america. It's very possible that your paper is accurate in the context of the areas studied, I'm just not sure if they are taking other routes besides the Beringian model into account.
anorlunda said:
Evidence triumphs over theory. That's what science is all about.
That should be written in stone.
 
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Hello @DrDu
After much reading and consideration, it appears that we are dealing with theoretical anthropology from either point of view.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264092 Seems based primarily on the stratigraphic interpretations. While very useful, it seems that method was somewhat selectively applied, ignoring criteria that didn't fit their particular model. I'm not saying it was an out and out cherry picked paper, it's just that one has to invalidate the entire Pacific coast migration model in order to make the Ice free corridor work (as the earliest settlement route). Personally, I believe it's most likely that both routes were popular conduits for travel, it's also likely that the Beringian Standstill Hypothesis wasn't considered.

https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/bering-land-bridge-first-americans/

We could obviously swap links all day long to various theories, all of which have some but not total credibility. Without a substantial breakthrough, which I haven't found so far, the
debate is just that, a debate without a winner. It's all a bunch of mental masturbation without more evidence.

Fascinating subject, just very ambiguous history, it's worth keeping an eye on though.
 

1. How were these fossilized footprints preserved for so long?

The footprints were preserved by being buried under layers of sediment and protected from weathering and erosion. The dry and stable climate of White Sands, NM also helped to preserve the footprints.

2. How do scientists determine the age of these fossilized footprints?

Scientists use radiocarbon dating, a method that measures the decay of radioactive carbon isotopes in organic material, to determine the age of the footprints. They also use other dating techniques such as optically stimulated luminescence dating, which measures the last time sediment was exposed to sunlight.

3. What can these fossilized footprints tell us about the past?

These footprints can provide valuable insights into the behavior and movement patterns of ancient humans. They can also give us information about the environment and climate of the area during that time period.

4. Are these fossilized footprints the oldest ones ever found?

No, there have been fossilized footprints found that date back millions of years. However, these footprints are significant because they are some of the oldest footprints found in North America.

5. How do these fossilized footprints contribute to our understanding of human evolution?

These footprints provide evidence of human presence in North America during the last Ice Age, which can help us understand the migration patterns and adaptations of ancient humans. They also provide a glimpse into the behavior and social interactions of these early humans.

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