Looks like the history books weren’t exactly right. Columbus discovered a land that people were living in for a long time. Sorry Europe and especially Italy.

Evidence was found that people were walking around New Mexico a heckuva long time before 1492.

For quite some time it has been “settled science” that humans migrated into the Americas during deglaciation as ice-free passages opened. While there have been indications that humans may have arrived much earlier, we now have “rock solid” evidence that humans were already in New Mexico about 23,000 years ago.

Earliest evidence of human activity found in the Americas, researchers report
Date: September 23, 2021
Source: University of Arizona
Summary: Footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico confirm human presence over at least two millennia, with the oldest tracks dating back 23,000 years, say scientists.

Footprints found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico provide the earliest unequivocal evidence of human activity in the Americas and provide insight into life over 23,000 years ago, scientists report.

The findings are described in an article in the journal Science.

Researchers Jeff Pigati and Kathleen Springer, with the U.S. Geological Survey, used radiocarbon dating of seed layers above and below the footprints to determine their age. The dates range in age and confirm human presence over at least two millennia, with the oldest tracks dating back 23,000 years.

Thank You WUWT