The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains. The new study isolated about 75,000 grains of pure pollen from the same sedimentary layer that contained the footprints. “Dating pollen is arduous and nail-biting,” said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the United States Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper. Ancient footprints of any kind — left by humans or megafauna like big cats and dire wolves — can provide archaeologists with a snapshot of a moment in time, recording how people or animals walked or limped along and whether they crossed paths.

---

Persons: ”, Thomas Urban, Thomas Stafford, “, Kathleen Springer, Jennifer Raff Organizations: White Sands National, Cornell University, United States Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: New Mexico, Americas, White Sands, Science, Russia, Alaska, Albuquerque , New Mexico, Brazil