Ancient Indigenous people in New Mexico lived through extreme climate change, study suggests

Key Points:

• A new study analyzing ancient pollen at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, suggests that some of the first people in North America lived through rapid climate changes during the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500 to 19,000 years ago).
• The White Sands site contains human footprints dated to around 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, challenging the previous assumption that humans arrived in the Americas about 13,000 years ago, though the dating remains debated.
• Researchers found evidence that early humans witnessed significant environmental shifts within their lifetimes, including a transition from a large lake with conifer forests to a shrinking lake surrounded by oak trees and sagebrush.
• The footprints, including those of a caregiver and toddler from 10,000 years ago, as well as sled-like drag marks, provide insights into human presence and activities alongside Ice Age animals, but offer limited information about detailed behaviors.
• The study highlights that humans likely revisited White Sands multiple times, possibly adapting to changing climates and exploiting resources concentrated by environmental shifts, offering a rare glimpse into early human-environment interactions.