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October 28, 2006
At Least this Seems Possible
Hunter-gather footprints found in Mexico are said to be between 10,000 and 15,000 years old.
A trail of 13 fossilized footprints running through a valley in a desert in northern Mexico could be among the oldest in the Americas, Mexican archeologists said.The footprints were made by hunter gatherers who are believed to have lived thousands of years ago in the Coahuila valley of Cuatro Cienegas, 190 miles (306 kms) south of Eagle Pass, Texas, said archaeologist Yuri de la Rosa Gutierrez of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History. [Associated Press via Yahoo]
Not only is this possible, from reading the whole article, I think it likely.
This find is certainly far more likely than the claim of finding 40,000-year-old footprints from Mexico that was made back in July of last year. In fact, the claim that the footprints from the Cuatro Cienegas Valley are among the oldest in the Americas tends to throw more cold water on the 40,000 year old claim which the AP article doesn't even mention. Here are the points of comparison given in the AP article on the new discovery,
The oldest discovered footprints in the Western hemisphere are in Chile, and are believed to be 13,000 years old. There [are (sic)] 6,000-year old footprints in the U.S. state of California, in Brazil and in Nicaragua.The age of the Mexican footprints is dwarfed by those found in Africa. The oldest known hominid foot marks are in Laetoli, in Tanzania, and are believed to have been made 3.5 million years ago
10,000 to 15,000 year old foot prints in the Americas? ¡Si! 40,000 year old foot prints in the Americas? ¡No!
Via, ArchaeoBlog
Posted by DuaneSmith at October 28, 2006 09:01 AM | Read more on Archaeology |
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