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.
The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands National Park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.
The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake — which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years.
See how splayed out those toes are? That is how our feet have evolved to support walking upright in bare feet. A lot of modern shoes are too narrow, and cram toes together. If some of your toes are bent inwards, then you have shoes to thank for that.
I read a book from one of the first European explorers in the Americas, his name was Cabeza de vaca. He interacted with many native tribes, including in the southwest, and commented how this one tribe who lived barefoot had black colored soles that were thick and hardened, and they didn’t need shoes to walk/run on any surface.
