Extraordinary Find Confirms That The Americas Were Settled Much Earlier Than Thought

23000 year-old footprints revolutionize our understanding of American history.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Imagine a group of teenagers strolling barefoot along the beach of a shallow lake. Their feet leaving footprints in the soft sand. Lake Otero is a virtual paradise, home to a variety of wildlife. A normal day on a normal weekend in the 21st century?

No, the scene I am describing occurred 23 thousand years ago around a now extinct lake. Today, this once lush landscape is a long, desolate stretch of sand in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Yet, it is here that scientists have just recently made a momentous discovery. A large number of footprints etched into the sand.

This find will rewrite our understanding of the history of the Americas. Until now, the prevailing view among researchers has been that the American continents were settled only at the end of the last Ice Age. When the icy glaciers finally retreated, a path was opened up into the interior. From Beringia, the land-bridge connecting Asia with the new continent, the Paleo-Indians colonized the lands.

This is known as the Clovis-first theory. According to its proponents, the Americas were settled very late, only around 13 thousand…