Coverage dated October 4, 2023 to October 5, 2023

Confirmed: The Oldest Human Footprints in North America Are at Least 21,500 Years Old

Headline from Science Alert

Footprints scattered across what is now the desert of New Mexico were trod by human feet no earlier than 21,500 years ago, new research has confirmed.

Science Alert's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

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25 articles, oldest first.

Scientific American
Ancient Footprints Affirm People Lived in the Americas More than 20,000 Years Ago (opens Scientific American)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Scientific American's feed description
A new study suggests humans arrived in the Americas before the height of the last ice age more than 20,000 years ago
KTVZ Bend
Scientists say they’ve confirmed evidence that humans arrived in the Americas far earlier than previously thought (opens KTVZ Bend)
Published Oct 4, 2023
KTVZ Bend's feed description
By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — When the discovery of fossilized footprints made in what’s now New Mexico was made public in 2021, it was a bombshell moment for archaeology, seemingly rewriting a chapter of the human story. Now new research is offering further evidence of their significance.
Washington Post
Oldest footprints in North America radically push back human arrival (opens Washington Post)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Washington Post's feed description
Dozens of fossilized human footprints in New Mexico have reignited a long-running debate about when people first arrived in the Americas.
KVIA El Paso
Further evidence points to footprints in New Mexico being the oldest sign of humans in Americas (opens KVIA El Paso)
Published Oct 4, 2023
KVIA El Paso's feed description
By CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer 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.
Gizmodo
Oldest Human Footprints in North America Really Are That Old, New Dating Confirms (opens Gizmodo)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Gizmodo's feed description
The fossilized footprints in New Mexico are at least 21,500 years old, corroborating a momentous 2021 result.
Newsweek
Humans lived in America earlier than thought, ancient footprint study finds (opens Newsweek)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Newsweek's feed description
Researchers say they have confirmed the age of controversial human footprints in New Mexico, finding them to be between around 23,000 and 21,000 years old.
Live Science
Debate settled? Oldest human footprints in North America really are 23,000 years old, study finds (opens Live Science)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Live Science's feed description
Scientists have used several methods to show that human footprints found in White Sands National Park are around 23,000 years old.
KVIA El Paso
Ancient footprints at White Sands really are oldest traces of humans in the Americas, scientists say (opens KVIA El Paso)
Published Oct 4, 2023
KVIA El Paso's feed description
When the discovery of fossilized footprints made in what’s now New Mexico was made public in 2021, it was a bombshell moment for archaeology.
Science News
Human footprints in New Mexico really may be surprisingly ancient, new dating shows (opens Science News)
Published Oct 4, 2023
Science News's feed description
Two dating methods find that human tracks in White Sands National Park in New Mexico are roughly 22,000 years old, aligning with a previous estimate.
Science Alert
Confirmed: The Oldest Human Footprints in North America Are at Least 21,500 Years Old (opens Science Alert)
Published Oct 5, 2023
Science Alert's feed description
Footprints scattered across what is now the desert of New Mexico were trod by human feet no earlier than 21,500 years ago, new research has confirmed.
The Guardian
New Mexico footprints are oldest sign of humans in Americas, research shows (opens The Guardian)
Published Oct 5, 2023
The Guardian's feed description
Fossil footprints date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, upending previous theory that humans reached continent later
CBS News
Scientists say they've confirmed fossilized human footprints found in New Mexico are between 21,000 and 23,000 years old (opens CBS News)
Published Oct 5, 2023
CBS News's feed description
It was previously believed humans existed in North America somewhere between 13,500 and 16,000 years ago, but these footprints are much older.
Los Angeles Times
Footprints in New Mexico are likely oldest sign of humans in the Americas, scientists say (opens Los Angeles Times)
Published Oct 5, 2023
Los Angeles Times's feed description
New research shows that fossil footprints discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in New Mexico date to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago.
New York Post
Footprints found at ancient lake challenge old belief of first humans in Americas (opens New York Post)
Published Oct 5, 2023
New York Post's feed description
The new discovery suggests that the first people actually arrived in the Americas much earlier than previously believed.
Fox News
Footprints found at ancient lake in New Mexico challenge old belief of first humans in Americas (opens Fox News)
Published Oct 5, 2023
Fox News's feed description
New research finds that humans might have first entered the New World not over the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, but thousands of years earlier.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
These footprints confirm that humans were in North America several millenia earlier than previously thought (opens Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Published Oct 5, 2023
Cleveland Plain Dealer's feed description
Fossilized foot prints found in New Mexico are the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, dating thousands of years before what was previously thought.

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.