Those who walked before : how Ice Age footprints in New Mexico retell the stories of the first Americans / Matthew R. Bennett, David F. Bustos, and Daniel Odess

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bennett, Matthew (Matthew R.), author.

Bustos, David F., author.

Odess, Daniel, 1966- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Footprints, Fossil--New Mexico--White Sands National Park.

Footprints, Fossil.

Trace fossils--New Mexico--White Sands National Park.

Trace fossils.

Paleontology--New Mexico--White Sands National Park.

Paleontology.

Excavations (Archaeology)--New Mexico--White Sands National Park.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Indians of North America.

Prehistoric peoples--New Mexico.

Prehistoric peoples.

White Sands (N.M.).

Genre:

Informational works.

Physical Description:

x, 192 pages : illustrations 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque, NM : University of New Mexico Press, 2026.

Summary:

On a warm winter day in 2005, while mending fences in the backcountry of White Sands National Park, David F. Bustos, the park's biologist turned resource-program manager, spotted his first Ice Age human footprint. He initially ignored it as a print made from a modern cowboy boot, but it nagged him for years. As Bustos became adept at identifying the trackways of Ice Age megafauna, he could not shake the feeling that ancient humans had walked there too. It turns out, Bustos was right. With the expertise of archaeologist Daniel Odess, British geologist Matthew R. Bennett, and a vast team of researchers they uncovered what is now considered the longest fossilized footprint trail in the world. Preserved beneath layers of alkaline gypsum sand are the unmistakable footprints of early humans, evidence that rewrites the timeline for the initial peopling of the Americas and is arguably the most important archaeological discovery of the last hundred years. "Those Who Walked Before: How Ice Age Footprints in New Mexico Retell the Stories of the First Americans" is the riveting, first-person account of this extraordinary scientific journey that recounts in vivid detail the excitement of an evolving and ongoing research program complete with dramatic discoveries, disheartening failures, and significant impacts that have shifted our collective knowledge of Indigenous America.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 178-192) and index [pages 193-196].

ISBN:

0826369413

9780826369413

OCLC:

1526851217

Publisher Number:

90104451012