New Evidence Suggests People Lived in the Americas 23,000 Years Ago

Researchers studying human footprints found in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, say the prints are about 23,000 years old—dating back to the peak of the last ice age.

This new study, published in Live Science, strengthens the idea that humans were in North America long before scientists previously thought.

The footprints were first studied in 2021, and scientists then estimated them to be between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. But some experts challenged those results, saying the method used—carbon dating of aquatic plant seeds—might not be reliable.

Now, scientists have taken new samples and used different dating methods, including optically stimulated luminescence (which shows when sand was last exposed to sunlight) and carbon dating of conifer pollen.

Their findings confirm the footprints likely date back 23,000 years.

A Glimpse Into an Ancient Landscape

“These new results support our earlier conclusions,” said Vance Holliday, lead author of the study and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.

He added that the research also gives insight into what the environment looked like back then—a grassy plain with lakes and rivers, likely full of wildlife.

The footprints are believed to be from hunter-gatherers who possibly came from Siberia, crossing into North America via the Bering land bridge—an area that once connected Russia and Alaska when sea levels were lower.

A Timeline Rewritten

For many years, it was believed that the first people in the Americas were the Clovis people, who arrived about 13,000 years ago.

But discoveries like the White Sands footprints suggest humans were present thousands of years earlier.

While some scientists still question the exact age of the footprints, this latest study adds strong support to the idea that humans were living in the Americas during the coldest period of the last ice age.