Human Saga

White Sands footprints: humans in the Americas during the Last Glacial Maximum

c. 23,000–21,000 years ago·Exploration & colonisation·North America (New Mexico, USA)·
c. 23,000–21,000 years agoDate
Exploration & colonisationCategory
0Empires active
Date
c. 23,000–21,000 years ago
Category
Exploration & colonisation
Region
North America (New Mexico, USA)
Era
Prehistory
Significance

Fossilised human footprints exposed in the dry bed of an ancient lake at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, provide some of the strongest evidence that people were living in the interior of North America far earlier than the long-standing Clovis-first model allowed.

First reported in 2021, the trackways — many made by children and teenagers, alongside prints of mammoths, giant ground sloths, and dire wolves — were initially dated to roughly 23,000–21,000 years ago using radiocarbon on seeds of an aquatic plant. Critics argued such plants could absorb ancient 'reservoir' carbon and yield falsely old ages. In response, researchers returned to the site and independently dated lakebed mud and pollen, with two laboratories converging on ages of about 20,700–22,400 years. If correct, the prints show humans south of the continental ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum, implying an arrival well before the ice-free corridor opened and reshaping debate over the timing and routes of the peopling of the Americas.

See the world map in c. 23,000–21,000 years ago →More exploration & colonisationThe Prehistory era

One piece of history in your inbox, weekly

New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Related exploration & colonisation events

Further reading

The wider story

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Charles C. Mann

Best-selling reappraisal of the sophisticated societies of the pre-Columbian Americas.

Get it on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.