New Mexico
Footprints discovered in New Mexico rewrite American history
Archaeologists have made a staggering discovery about American history and it’s all thanks to some footprints.
The human tracks, unearthed in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, are the oldest ever to be found on the continent.
Scientists previously estimated their age as between 11,500 and 13,000 years, but new analysis has found out that the most ancient of them is, in fact, 23,000 years old.
This means that humans lived in North America at least 10,000 years earlier than experts had thought. And, indeed, experts say, it’s possible that they arrived earlier still: towards the end of the last ice age, more than 32,000 years ago.
“The site in New Mexico has rewritten history books,” Sally Reynolds, principal academic in paleoecology at Bournemouth University, said in a statement.
“These footprints provide a valuable window into the lives our ancestors lived and how much they were like us,” she added, explaining that they revealed “wonderful examples of human activity” and the way that humans “interacted with one another, with the landscape, and with the animal life there”.
The footprints are the earliest known evidence of humans in North America(NPS, USGS and Bournemouth University)
Indeed, it’s not just the age of these prints that makes them so remarkable, it’s the fact that they offer an unprecedented snapshot of life at the time.
From children jumping and splashing in puddles to a group of hunters stalking a giant sloth, the 23,000-year-old tracks pull back the curtain on our Pleistocene past.
They were made by people walking on damp ground at the edge of a now-dry lake and whilst some are visible to the naked eye today, others can only be identified using ground-penetrating radar.
Matthew Bennett, also of Bournemouth University and lead author of two scientific papers about the footprints told Smithsonian Magazine that he knew of older human tracks in Africa and older human tracks in Africa and other parts of the world, but none, he insisted, “tell such a vivid, relatable story”.
His first paper, published in the journal Science in 2021, detailed how the footprints captured a perilous journey undertaken by what appears to be a small woman or adolescent girl, carrying a child on her hip, walking fast across the muddy lakeshore.
“There were hungry predators around, including dire wolves and sabre-toothed cats,” Bennett told the Smithsonian.
“We can see where she slipped in the mud at certain points […] We can also see the child’s footprints where she set it down, presumably because she was tired and needed a rest.”
Based on the size of the footprints, the child seemed to be less than three years old and didn’t accompany their older female companion on the return journey.
This begs the question as to what happened to the child. Did the woman drop them off in a camp? And why were they walking among dangerous animals on the slippery lakeshore?
“There’s no way of knowing,” Bennett admitted. “But if you’ve ever rushed to get somewhere important while carrying a tired toddler, you’ve experienced a very similar emotion”– even if you weren’t looking over your shoulder for sabre-toothed cats.
The prints were found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, which was once home to a large lake(NPS)
“The footprints left at White Sands give a picture of what was taking place, teenagers interacting with younger children and adults,” Bennett said in a separate statement.
“We can think of our ancestors as quite functional, hunting, and surviving, but what we see here is also activity of play, and of different ages coming together. A true insight into these early people.”
The Bournemouth University scientist also stressed that although the footprints provide exciting glimpses into what life was like in North America 23,000 years ago, he and his team now want to find out how humans got there in the first place.
“We need lots more sites to make sense of where they came from and by what route,” Bennett told the Smithsonian.
“The lasting legacy of White Sands is to point the way to a new archive of evidence.”
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LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
CHAMA, N.M. – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will begin its summer season on Tuesday, June 9, after the railroad delayed its opening due to drought and wildfire danger.
The season was initially set to begin on May 23. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission said it would conduct a review on June 2 to determine if it was safe enough to begin operations.
“A sincere thank you to all our passengers and the communities in Chama and Antonito who have been so patient as we waited for conditions to improve,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. “We are excited to welcome guests back aboard and hear the opening whistle signal the start of another memorable season.”
The railroad will hold a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, June 13, in Chama. The celebration will coincide with Chama Western Heritage Days, a community festival that weekend with live music, vendors, and rodeo competitions.
The railroad recently won USA TODAY’S poll for the best scenic train ride in the country. In celebration of the win, the railroad said passengers who book by June 7 ca receive a 25% discount on coach tickets for trips through August. Guests must redeem the offer by calling the railroad at 888-286-2737 using promo code USATODAY#1.
Tickets are also available for the first Dark Sky Train departures on June 12 from Chama and June 13 from Antonito. The dark sky trains include evening excursions led by international dark sky guides, and take passengers to secluded spots with minimal light pollution.
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
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