The footprints found at White Sands National Park are fossilized and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. They were discovered in 2009 and include human footprints, as well as those of extinct ice age animals such as Harlan’s ground sloth and dire wolf. The footprints are scattered across Lake Otero, and while they are ancient, scientists are still uncovering new evidence of past life. The footprints are slowly being destroyed by erosion, as they are so soft they can be cut with a butter knife.
The footprints at White Sands were dated by examining the seeds of an aquatic plant that once thrived along the shores of the dried-up lake, Ruppia cirrhosa, commonly known as ditchgrass. The ancient ditchgrass seeds were found in layers of hard earth both above and below the many human footprints at the site, and they were radiocarbon-dated to determine their age.
The footprints are a significant discovery as they provide direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, and they challenge long-standing assumptions about how and when people arrived in North America. The footprints show that humans and animals trekked across the same grassy route for at least two millennia, from 21,000 to 23,000 years ago.
There is no information available on the ingredients or materials of the footprints, as they are fossilized imprints of feet left in the sand.
