For nearly a century, scientists believed that humans first arrived in the Americas
around thirteen thousand years ago, crossing a land bridge from Asia that no longer exists.
Now, though, there’s new evidence to suggest that people were living in America long before
that – perhaps ten thousand years earlier, at the height of the last ice age. If true,
this means ancient human cultures had faced a whole new reality.
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question:
could these newly discovered footprints rewrite ancient history?
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Ghost tracks. That’s what experts call fossilized footprints that appear and disappear as the land
changes – and oddly enough, their impermanence is actually a good thing. Unlike a bone or a rock,
which can move around to become buried in different layers of the Earth over time,
a footprint remains in the ground where it was made. Which makes dating the prints much easier.
In 2021, the British geoscientist, Matthew Bennett, from Bournemouth University,
discovered more than sixty ghost footprints in the US state of New Mexico.
They were embedded in an ancient layer of silt containing remnants of aquatic plants, suggesting
that the prints were originally made near water. Using the bits of plant for carbon dating, Bennett
and his team estimated the new-found prints to be between 21 and 23,000 years old – and therefore
considerably older than when most timelines estimate humans to have been on this land.
The prints were small, and probably made (all that time ago) by children or teenagers.
And, significantly, some much larger tracks were discovered close by, too: the
footprints of mammoths, giant sloths, and other animals that were unique to the last ice age.
These footprints are not the first indicators that humans lived in America longer ago than scientists
had previously thought, however. Evidence of stone tools dating back twenty thousand years (or more)
has previously been found in both southern US and Mexico. Several discoveries have been
made on the west coast of the United States, too, including more ancient tools and some fossilized
human feces. Meanwhile, one controversial study even found apparent evidence that other
hominids – ancient ancestors of homo sapiens – may have lived in what’s now California as much as
130,000 years ago! However, the ghost tracks in New Mexico remain incredibly important… as they
seemingly show clear, tangible evidence that humans were present at a much earlier time.
The Bering Land Bridge was once a major geographical feature on the world map.
It’s now underwater, beneath the ocean, but it at one time connected present-day Asia to the
Americas. If humans crossed it sometime around 10,000 BCE, as scientists have long thought,
then the last ice age would have been on its way out at around that point in history.
Temperatures would have been warming, ice melting, and the northern latitudes
would have been becoming more habitable. Under these more comfortable conditions,
it’s perhaps easier to visualize our species beginning to spread.
However, this new evidence means that that degree of comfort is no more.
Really, people were most likely living – and traveling – in the Americas
at a time when glaciers still covered much of the land, the air was extremely cold and dry,
and conditions were far more hostile to most forms of life. Humans, being native to Africa,
are naturally tropical creatures; our lack of fur and blubber makes us vulnerable to cold and
harsh weather. However, we’re also remarkably adaptable. We know the first humans of America
used a variety of stone tools to hunt animals, and to shape their hides into clothing.
We know that early humans were inventive; they developed shelters from the materials at hand;
and even found ways to make fire in places with very little wood. The ability to thrive
in many different environments was undoubtedly a vital asset to the earliest American explorers.
The new idea that those people may have lived in the Americas much longer ago doesn’t necessarily
mean that they used especially different methods of survival. Or different ways of getting there.
As scientists have long thought, most of them likely still made use of the Bering Land Bridge;
some communities might’ve even made their homes along the bridge itself. It wasn’t the only
route in, though. It’s thought others might’ve traveled along the coast in boats, at a time
when the continents were much closer together… and journeying from Asia to America by water
may’ve been possible. So, all in all, the most intriguing question raised by the new evidence
is perhaps not so much how people ventured to the Americas at an earlier time, but why.
Considering the hostile ice age conditions, it seems as though there must have been an
important reason, some strong impetus, to bring ancient humans out of their old, established,
reliable environments to seek new places to live. At this point, it’s impossible to know for sure
what that reason was. Some have suggested that perhaps the old places were becoming overcrowded,
or food was growing scarce. However, considering that back then,
the overall human population was still small… this may not be the most likely explanation.
And there is another possibility. Along with our ability to adapt,
we humans have another trait that seems stronger in us than in most fellow creatures: curiosity.
Curiosity so powerful that it has continually compelled us into the unknown, no matter the
danger. Perhaps this was the true driving force behind those first perilous journeys to America.
Who exactly were these people, then? They’ve left relics of their culture, as well as descendants.
Unfortunately, recent history has harbored a stereotype that Native American society was
somewhat primitive and undeveloped, probably because European colonizers around the 1500s
portrayed them that way… but we know this idea is misguided. For one thing,
while sanctimonious Europeans may have viewed indigenous people as uncouth,
the indigenous people knew vastly more about the land. Many would-be colonizers died after
arriving at the so-called “new world”, as they had no idea how to survive there – and that
was just a few hundred years ago. But Native Americans have thousands of years behind them.
Between those first migrations (now thought to have been upwards of 20,000 years ago) and the
first landings from Europe (only about 500 years ago) the culture on the Americas proved extremely
versatile, with each community suiting itself to its surrounding environment. Some were nomadic,
following the migrations of animals; some farmed the land, raising crops; while some settled near
water and became experts in fishing, boating, and aquatic animals. Given the variety of specialties,
extensive trading between the communities developed… which led to the formation of
large villages and even cities. Art flourished, as did music, dance, and religious ceremonies. And,
while different tribes had, and still have, different traditions and legends,
there are certain themes that run consistently through Native American beliefs: such as harmony
with the natural world, peace among people, and the idea that all life on Earth is connected.
Fast forward to the modern day, then, and there’s a crushing reality. Because… what
was lost when Europe arrived in the Americas and near eradicated Native American culture?
What could we have learned from all those who were killed by invaders, succumbed to foreign diseases,
or were forced to leave the homes that they’d so meticulously cultivated? Again, it’s impossible
to tell... but with the latest research revealing that human history seemingly stretched back even
further than previously thought, that’s thousands more years’ worth of our story forgotten.
The footprints in New Mexico were studied primarily by scientists with little historical
connection to the land or its people. And that’s not unusual; so many new archaeological
discoveries of ancient humans in Canada and the United States have been found, examined, and
publicized by people who aren’t Native American, nor descended from those who were. Incredible as
it may seem, precious few indigenous voices are typically included in the scientific discussion.
It’s rare that Native Americans are particularly consulted as to the meaning of what gets found.
Those studying artifacts and making claims about them are often not the people whose ancestors
actually used or made them. On the one hand, it might be argued that this is that all-too-human
trait of curiosity in action, once again – and its bringing results. But on the other,
perhaps there are changes needed if we want to fairly and effectively understand the past.
So, could the ghost tracks in New Mexico really rewrite ancient history? Yes, and to some degree
they already have… forcing the established, mainstream timelines to almost double in length,
reaching much further back and painting a wholly different picture. But it’s also a discovery which
provides opportunity for history to give credit where it’s due, more so than has been done before.
Credit to the people who made those tracks, who were the authors of an extraordinary achievement.
A triumph of human curiosity, courage, and ingenuity. And their descendants
are still here to tell their tale, if only the rest of the world would listen.
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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