Painted pottery, stone tools, rock art on cave walls – these are what come to mind when we think of artifacts of our region's deep human past. But in the study of prehistory here, one of the most exciting recent finds has come in a subtler guise.

During the last decade, archeologists have begun to document trails – prehistoric routes and pathways – in the Chihuahuan Desert. The research relies on new technology – and painstaking fieldwork. And though it's new, it has the potential to shed light on the richness of social relations and ceremonial life, and the ways ancient societies related to this desert-mountain land.

Archeologists have studied ancient trails in the Southwes... Hosted by for KRTS