Exploration of White Sands' Human Trackways Using Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Footprints and Footwear" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The dating of fossil human footprints at White Sands in New Mexico to the Last Glacial Maximum brings into focus the nature of the environment at this time, and the potential resource attractors. There is already a rich body of research into the paleoenvironments which explores this climate period. In this paper, we will review this work by producing a new synthesis of results to contextualise the fossil tracks at White Sands. In addition, we will add new data in the form of ostracod analysis with the specific application of Mutual Ostracod Temperature Range (MOTR). Therefore, there remains a need in exploring the environments surrounding human trackways, putting into perspective the climatic conditions of human behaviours.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Footprints and Footwear

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50661