A recent discovery has reshaped our understanding of human history in North America.

A few EarthDates ago, we talked about a tribe of Siberians who were stranded in the Bering Strait for centuries before migrating into North America to become its first citizens 16,000 years ago.

Turns out, they weren’t first. Because in White Sands National Park, scientists have found something remarkable.

Modern visitors to this dry southeastern corner of New Mexico, who happened to come during one of its rare rainy spells, sometimes reported seeing “ghost footprints.” But they would disappear when the sands dried again.

In 2016, archaeologists were finally able to locate and carefully excavate a large number of these footprints around an ancient dry lake. Then, they used radiocarbon dating on grass seeds found with the prints to determine their age—and were stunned by the results.

Humans lived in the area between 23,000 and 21,000 years ago—5,000 years before the Beringians arrived.

The researchers found dozens of prints, from small children to older adults…who these people were is a mystery—at least for now.

The field of paleoanthropology continues to produce new riddles and new answers in our quest to understand our past.

The White Sands people will certainly play a role in that.