A surprising discovery in the Utah desert has revealed human footprints more than 12,000 years old, dating back to the end of the Ice Age. The prints, left by both adults and children, were uncovered by Thomas Urban from Cornell University and Daron Duke from Far Western Anthropological Research Group.
They were conducting research at the Utah Testing and Training Range (UTTR), a site primarily used by the Air Force, when they made the unexpected discovery. This site, located in the desert’s salt flats, has now become a key location for Ice Age archaeology.
Discovery Thanks to Radar Technology
The discovery of the human footprints was almost by chance. Thomas Urban noticed what he called “ghost tracks,” which are fleeting impressions that appear only when the moisture conditions are just right. Having worked on human tracks at White Sands National Park before, Urban immediately recognized these marks as human.
According to a press release from Cornell University, the visible tracks were just part of the story. Using ground-penetrating radar, a technology he had refined during previous research, the team uncovered many more footprints hidden beneath the surface.
A Family in the Ice Age Desert
Among the 88 footprints documented at the site, both adult and child prints were found, offering rare insight into family life during the Ice Age. Daron Duke explained that these prints seemed to have been made by people walking in shallow water, with the sand quickly filling in the prints as they moved. This preservation method, aided by a layer of mud beneath, allowed the tracks to remain intact for thousands of years.
“Based on excavations of several prints, we’ve found evidence of adults with children from about five to 12 years of age that were leaving bare footprints,” explained in an Hill Air Force Base press release.
The discovery of children’s footprints, alongside those of adults, suggests that entire family groups were involved in the activities at the site.
“People appear to have been walking in shallow water, the sand rapidly infilling their print behind them – much as you might experience on a beach – but under the sand was a layer of mud that kept the print intact after infilling,” he added.
An Important Archaeological Find
While this discovery isn’t as old or as extensive as the famous White Sands footprints, it’s still a significant find for archaeology in Utah. As reported by Urban, the discovery confirms that similar sites may exist elsewhere in the region, and that ground-penetrating radar can be a valuable tool in uncovering these hidden traces of the past.
“We have long wondered whether other sites like White Sands were out there, and whether ground-penetrating radar would be effective for imaging footprints at locations other than White Sands, since it was a very novel application of the technology,” he stated. “The answer to both questions is ‘yes.’”
This find could lead to more discoveries in areas previously thought barren of such evidence. As research continues, the team hopes to uncover even more details about how theseearly humans lived and interacted with their environment.
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