Footprints discovered in White Sands National Park in New Mexico prove that humans lived in North America between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago
, during the last ice age and thousands of years before scientists previously thought, a new study claims.Key Facts
The footprints, which were confirmed in 2016 to be made by people, are some of the earliest evidence of human life on the continent, according to the paper, which was published in the journalResearchers determined the age of the footprints, which were found in a dried-up lake, by carbon dating plant seeds discovered below and above them.
The footprints suggest that humans could have arrived in North America before the last ice age, up to 30,000 years ago, Matthew Bennett, lead author of the study and a professor of environmental and geographic sciences at Bournemouth University in the U.K., toldThe last ice age, referred to by scientists as the Last Glacial Maximum, occurred between 20,000 and 26,000 years ago.
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