White Sands Footprints: Rethinking the First Americans Timeline
Radiocarbon dating of ancient seeds aligns with track ages, placing humans in New Mexico >20,000 years ago.
Noah Martinez
Human footprints preserved in gypsum at White Sands National Park have sparked debate about the peopling of the Americas. Refined dating of Ruppia cirrhosa seeds embedded in the sediment supports a late-glacial human presence over 20,000 years ago.
Dating Challenges
Reservoir effects and carbon sources were scrutinized. Multiple independent lines of evidence—optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), stratigraphy, and seed radiocarbon—converge on late Pleistocene ages.
Implications for Migration
The findings complicate the “Clovis-first” model, suggesting coastal and interior routes may have been viable earlier than thought.
FAQs
Could tracks be younger? Cross-validated methods and sediment context support older dates.
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