10,000-Year-Old Double Human Tracks Discovered in New Mexico, Study Reveals Mammoth and Giant Sloth Followed the Way
In 2017, archeologists uncovered how four ancient beings came into each other's way around 10,000 years ago. The unique finding in New Mexico features the fossilized tracks of a woman or man, a toddler, a giant sloth, and a woolly mammoth, Live Science reported.
The 10 millennia-old pathways reflect an intriguing story of a woman or man carrying a baby presumably from one camp to another, with one of the two animals escaping in fear of them, while the other being unaffected by their presence. Findings regarding the track prints have been published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
Matthew Bennett, a geologist at Bournemouth University in England uncovered the footprints in White Sands National Park, National Geographic reported. The nature of the footprints indicated that they were either of a woman or of a young man. Researchers further noted that the traveler while moving could have been dealing with rain. This assertion was made because the state of the tracks implied that the person possibly slid in the mud while walking.
The path had a total of 400 human prints. Among them, there were several child prints. On close analysis, experts also discovered animal prints. Examinations aided researchers in understanding the relationship all these parties shared.
There were two sets of tracks, Live Science reported. One set was northbound while the other was southbound. This made the researchers think that the traveler both went to a certain place and came back from there using the same path. The northbound tracks showed evidence of the traveler carrying a child aged less than three, but the same cannot be said for the southbound ones.
In the northbound tracks, there were three spots where a child's prints joined the primary footprints, National Geographic reported. This could mean that at these junctures the traveler put down the child for some reason, before taking them back again and continuing. The tracks of the left foot were also a bit larger which reflects that the child was being carried on one side.
The spacing of the tracks suggests that the person was walking at the speed of around 3.8 miles an hour. The individual possibly was also rushing to go to their destination judging by the pace as well as the load they were carrying, according to the study. There were also certain spots where the strides were long, implying that the person was walking over an obstacle.
"It could be puddles." study author Sally Reynolds, a paleontologist at Bournemouth University guesses. "It could be wet mammoth poo."
In the southbound tracks, the left and right footprints were of the same size, and slippage evidence was also negligible. All of these imply that the traveler was walking without any load. This means that the child did not accompany the adult on their return.
Analysis of animal tracks indicates that the mammoth and giant sloth interacted with the human footprint when the duo had already gone to their destination. The now-extinct animals never met the duo, as the adult's southbound footprints run into the animal prints. The identification of animals helped researchers in dating the footprints.
Both the animals reacted to the animal footprints differently, Live Science reported. The giant sloth appears to have stopped near the human tracks for some time. Researchers believe he sniffed the air around the prints, trying to figure out if they were around, and then went their way. This possibly was the result of humans incessantly hunting sloths at that time. The sloth's pause could be a sign of their nervousness.
On the contrary nothing like that was noted in the mammoth's footprints. They did not slow down and had a uniform pace.
Researchers continue to work at the site to know more about the ancient residents that once graced the location, National Geographic reported. "These are little snapshots into ancient life and attitudes to other animals and landscapes that we just never thought we could get," Reynolds said.