America’s first people survived a world in flux: 23,000-year-old footprints reveal how climate change reshaped their lives during the Ice Age

Research at White Sands National Park indicates that the ancient environment dramatically changed over thousands of years. This study provides new insights into how climatic shifts impacted early human inhabitants in the region. Lake Otero diminished and vegetation transformed, which may have altered available resources for early Americans. Scientists analyzed sediments and ancient pollen to reconstruct the past environmental conditions.