Geology topics

Daniel Odess

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Odess.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

The ichnology of White Sands (New Mexico): Linear traces and human footprints, evidence of transport technology?

A travois is crafted from one or more wooden poles and is one of the simplest pre-historic vehicles. Although these devices likely played vital roles in the lives of ancient peoples, they have low preservation potential in the archaeological record. Here we report linear features associated with human footprints, some of which are dated to ~22,000 years old, preserved in fine-grained sediments at White Sands National Park (New Mexico, USA). Using a range of examples, we identify three morphological types of trace in late Pleistocene sediments. Type I features occur as single, or bifurcating, narrow (depth>width) grooves which extend in planform from 2 to 50 m in length and trace either straight, gently curved or more irregular lines. They are associated with human footprints, which are truncated longitudinally by the groove and are not associated with other animal tracks. Type II examples are broader (width>depth) and form shallow runnels that typically have straight planforms and may truncate human footprints to one side. Type III examples consist of two parallel, equidistant grooves between 250 and 350 mm apart. They trace gently curving lines that can extend for 30+ m. Human footprints are associated with these features and may occur between and to the side of the parallel grooves. We review a range of possible interpretations including both human and non-human explanations and conclude that the most parsimonious explanation is that they represent drag marks formed by travois consisting of a single pole or crossed poles pulled by humans, presumably during the transport of resources. As such this unique footprint record may represent one of the earliest pieces of evidence for the use of transport technology.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Independent age estimates resolve the controversy of ancient human footprints at White Sands

Human footprints at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA, reportedly date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago according to radiocarbon dating of seeds from the aquatic plant Ruppia cirrhosa . These ages remain controversial because of potential old carbon reservoir effects that could compromise their accuracy. We present new calibrated 14C ages of terrestrial pollen collected from the same stratigraphic horizons as those of the Ruppia seeds, along with optically stimulated luminescence ages of sediments from within the human footprint–bearing sequence, to evaluate the veracity of the seed ages. The results show that the chronologic framework originally established for the White Sands footprints is robust and reaffirm that humans were present in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum.

New Mexico↗

USGS2022

Reply to “Evidence for humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could actually be for Clovis people ~13,000 years ago” by C. Vance Haynes, Jr.

Bennett et al. (2021, Science 373, 1528–1531) reported that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park, New Mexico date to between ∼23,000 and 21,000 years ago. Haynes (2022, PaleoAmerica , this issue) proposes two alternate hypotheses to explain the antiquity of the footprints. One is that they were made by humans crossing over older sediments sometime during the Holocene. This is incorrect as there are Pleistocene megafauna tracks interspersed with the human footprints, so they cannot be Holocene in age. The other hypothesis maintains seeds used to date the human footprints were exhumed from older sediments, transported across the Tularosa Basin, and deposited on moist ground that was traversed by Clovis people at ∼13,000 years ago. This scenario requires a series of events that are highly unlikely, if not impossible. We maintain the seeds were collected from their original depositional context and the ages of the footprints fall within the Last Glacial Maximum.

New Mexico↗

USGS2022

Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”

Madsen et al . question the reliability of calibrated radiocarbon ages associated with human footprints discovered recently in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. On the basis of the geologic, hydrologic, stratigraphic, and chronologic evidence, we maintain that the ages are robust and conclude that the footprints date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago. Madsen et al . ( 1 ) question the veracity of calibrated radiocarbon ages used to constrain the antiquity of human trackways discovered recently at White Sands National Park (WHSA) Locality 2, New Mexico, USA ( 2 ). The ages were derived from seeds of the aquatic plant Ruppia cirrhosa , which they suggest may suffer from hard-water (or reservoir) effects, making them too old, potentially by thousands of years. We were well aware of this possibility, investigated it, and presented several lines of evidence that argued against such a problem. Here we respond to each of their four primary points.

Science↗

USGS2021

Evidence for humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum

Archaeologists and researchers in allied fields have long sought to understand human colonization of North America. When, how, and from where did people migrate, and what were the consequences of their arrival for the established fauna and landscape are enduring questions. Here, we present evidence from excavated surfaces of in situ human footprints from White Sands National Park (New Mexico, USA), where multiple human footprints are stratigraphically constrained and bracketed by seed layers that yield calibrated ages between ~23 and 21 ka. These findings confirm the presence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum, adding evidence to the antiquity of human colonization of the Americas, and provide a temporal range extension for the co-existence of early inhabitants and Pleistocene megafauna.

New Mexico↗