Ancient footprints challenge old timeline of human arrival in America

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New research has led to a major finding for the story of humans. Ancient footprints were found in New Mexico, and it’s the oldest sign of human life in the Americas.

It tells us our ancestors were here 21 to 23,000 years ago – thousands of years earlier than we thought.

Tom Stafford is helping us understand all this.

“Oh my God, now we’ve got people at 21,000 to 23,000, let’s say 10,000 years before what has been accepted.”

He’s a long-time geologist who’s worked all over the world. Now, he lives in New Mexico.

Stafford says this research marks a major shift in how people believe our ancestors founded the new world.

“It’s really, really an incredible discovery.”

There were doubts before, but now many experts are as sure as anyone could be.

“There is very good, solid evidence for people being here – vualá – in New Mexico.”

When and how early humans got here has been a long-debated topic, making the finding in New Mexico even more important.

This revelation helps us understand all of our origins. 

Watch the video above for the full story.