A groundbreaking research study conducted on fossilized human footprints found in New Mexico has reshaped the understanding of when humans first arrived in America. This recent discovery challenges the traditional belief that humans migrated to America from Russia by crossing the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska approximately 15,000 years ago.
According to findings published in the journal Science, these significant footprints were unearthed at the edge of an ancient lake bed located in White Sands National Park, New Mexico.
The estimated age of these footprints had previously sparked controversy, but Thomas Urban, an archaeological scientist at Cornell University, emphasized the importance of the subject, stating, “This is a subject that’s always been controversial because it’s so significant—it’s about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world.”
Following the initial publication of the study’s findings in 2021, doubts arose regarding the dating process, with speculation suggesting that seeds of aquatic plants used for dating might have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake, potentially leading to radiocarbon dating errors spanning thousands of years.
The recent study sought to reaffirm these critical dates with two additional lines of evidence. It utilized entirely different materials found at the site, including ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains. Approximately 75,000 grains of pure pollen were examined from the same sedimentary layer housing the footprints.
Kathleen Springer, co-author of the new paper and a research geologist at the United States Geological Survey, described pollen dating as “arduous and nail-biting.” In addition to pollen dating, researchers examined damage in the crystal lattices of ancient quartz grains to establish an age estimate.
The significance of this discovery lies in its unambiguous nature. Jennifer Raff, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas, commented, “White Sands is unique because there’s no question these footprints were left by people; it’s not ambiguous.”
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Source: Hindustan Times
