The Trackway Site: Human Footprints at the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in the Great Salt Lake Desert

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Application of Geophysical Techniques to Military Archaeology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2022, human footprints were discovered on the Old River Bed delta, a large terminal Pleistocene to early Holocene distributary wetland in western Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert. The site also sits within the boundaries of the U.S. Air Force’s Utah Test and Training Range. The prints’ preservation and context showed the unshod feet of adults and children infilled with stream sand from wading in waters that disappeared about 10,000 years ago. Their stratigraphic position suggested an age as early as the terminal Pleistocene alongside similarly preserved Haskett-associated archaeology in the vicinity, ca. 12,500-12,100 cal BP. In 2023, in consultation with affiliated Native American tribes, the site was excavated to determine the age and geomorphic sensitivity of the footprints. Documentation included using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and 3D scanning technologies to minimize invasive impacts, examine preservation, and create digital products. In this presentation, we share new results on the age and significance of the footprints and discuss next steps in managing the Trackway site through further preservation-based archaeology and ongoing Tribal involvement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Application of Geophysical Techniques to Military Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39919.0