Research into fossil footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico confirmed humans were in the Americas at least 21,000 years ago.
According to former theories, the Americas was only populated about 15,000 years ago via the Bering Strait between modern-day Russia and Alaska. The new research used multiple methods to determine the footprints’ age, with all results pointing to a date between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago.