Bournemouth University

Ancient People in New Mexico Endured Abrupt Climate Swings 23,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests

New research on ancient footprints from White Sands in New Mexico suggests that some of the earliest known people in North America lived through severe and rapid climate shifts during the last ice age. The findings add a new human dimension to climate science, showing that early Indigenous populations were not only present far earlier than once believed, but were also adapting to unstable environmental conditions that reshaped the continent.