One Step at a Time

New scientific research conducted at White Sands National Park in New Mexico has uncovered the oldest known human footprints in North America. The discovery reveals evidence of human occupation in the Tularosa Basin beginning at least 23,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

“These incredible discoveries illustrate that White Sands National Park is not only a world-class destination for recreation but is also a wonderful scientific laboratory that has yielded groundbreaking, fundamental research,” Superintendent Marie Sauter said.

The fossilized human footprints were buried in multiple layers of gypsum soil on a large playa in White Sands. Seeds embedded in the footprints were radiocarbon dated and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey to establish their age. The research dramatically extends the range for the coexistence of humans and Pleistocene (ice age) megafauna and confirms that humans were present in North America before the major glacial advances at the height of the last ice age closed migration routes from Asia. The findings are detailed in an article published in the journal “Science.”

“This study illustrates the process of science - new evidence can shift long-held paradigms,” USGS Acting Rocky Mountain Regional Director Allison Shipp said.

White Sands contains the world’s largest-known collection of Pleistocene age (ice age) fossilized footprints in the world and has been recognized as a mega-tracksite since 2014. In addition to human footprints, tracks from the Columbian mammoth, saber-toothed cat, dire wolf and other ice age animals have been discovered. More information about the park’s fossilized footprints is available at https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/fossilized-footprints.htm.

Scientists from White Sands, the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bournemouth University, University of Arizona and Cornell University, in connection with the park’s Native American partners, have collaborated and consulted on this research.

White Sands protects and preserves the world’s largest gypsum dune field, at least 23,000 years of archaeology, adaptive flora and fauna, as well as Works Progress Administration-era historic pueblo buildings.

Visit www.nps.gov/whitesands.

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.