New research was conducted on the landscape of North America using two new tests that confirm the ancient human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

Researchers used radiocarbon and luminescence dating techniques to estimate the age of the footprints. According to these techniques, the footprints are 21,000 to 23,000 years old.

Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across North America around 23,000 years ago. The footprints were found in a dry lake bed in White Sands National Park. https://t.co/stkcm9uz4J

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 23, 2021

Researchers further confirm that humans existed in North America during the last ice Age’s most frosty and unfavorable conditions.

The same researchers conducted a study in 2021 on tiny plant seeds fixed in sediment alongside them. It dated back to about 21,000 to 23,000 years ago. Some scientists expressed doubt over the dating conclusion at that time.

New research confirms that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are likely the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many archaeologists thought they knew about when our ancestors arrived in the New World. https://t.co/uZKTOiHzv5

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2023

Read the detailed report about Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum

Jeff Pigati said that every dating technique has its pros and cons. But when three different dating techniques connect in the same age range, the resulting ages are extremely strong. Pigati is a research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver.

Another USGS research Geologist based in Denver, Kathleen Springer said we knew that we needed to investigate the plant seeds independently. It was important to develop community confidence in them as our original results were controversial. She added the recent research is a validatory exercise as new tests confirm the ancient human footprints in New Mexico.

Scientists believe that humans originated in Africa more than 300,000 years ago and afterward spread worldwide. They think the humans came to North America from Asia. They reached North America by marching across the land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska.

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