Ice Age Footprints (2022) | Full Documentary | NOVA

Thousands of footprints stretch for miles across New Mexico’s White Sands National Park, capturing moments when Ice Age humans encountered now-extinct beasts, including enormous ground sloths and mammoths. What can these footprints reveal about the peopling of the Americas and what life was like at the end of the last Ice Age?

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[kendallpatterson]

This is easily one of the coolest discoveries in modern times

[brettwilson]

PBS has the best documentaries. always have.

[air]

If it wasn't for NOVA we would not know so many fascinating discoveries !!!! Love. NOVA !!!

[tao.of.history]

Thanks for sharing this doc, I’ve been wanting to see it!! & on YouTube it gives great access for teachers (huge)… Immediately when I saw the ‘structure’ tracks, they reminded me of the trackway marks we still have on the prairies in Canada from travois tracks. & wow wow! 23, 000 years ago!!!,

[max]

Love how they only visit when the weather has been just right to not disturb the track or ground around them and how careful they are right up to the missile range lol

[sheenakaal]

In The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronoswsi (1973) he mentions that there were two waves of people coming to North America. One was between 28, 000 BC and 23, 000 BC and another between 14, 000 BC and 10, 000 BC. He also mentions interesting things about blood groups. Google The Ascent of Man and look at the 3rd episode. It was an altogether fascinating series which I happened to stumble upon more than 10 years ago in my public library. Although the series is more than fifty years old it is still so full of insight.

[kimjongun]

When that lake was full swimming must of been amazing there fresh glacier water & clean

[johnpartridge]

Great discoveries again on PBS, thanks for sharing 👍

[bigdog]

Great doc, but the Clovis theory has been out the window for a long time. The are much older sites scattered all over the Americas. Too numerous to list, but right here in my home state of Oregon, ID, PA, SC....

[tonyk]

Hey, PBS bring back Cosmos, with Carl Sagan.

[gethappytravelbikehike]

One thing I noticed is, if they are so fragile how did they last thousands /millions of years? also some of the human foot prints had four toes.

[atheistapostate]

It’s been posited that the first Americans came down the western coast line and around the ice sheets.

[brian_coreas]

They Should Extract As Much Foot and Paw Prints As Possible.

[janerkenbrack]

It seems most plausible to me that humans first arrived by boat, following the kelp highway that was mentioned in the video. It might have been a great leap of technology to figure out that people could fashion boats and travel by water, but the concept was plainly in front of them whenever they were by water. Every time some kid playing in the river floated on a log that was passing by, the idea would have shown itself.
And, since the coastline of the continent was not where it is today, it is difficult to find evidence of such maritime travel.
Perhaps when we are able to conduct archaeology offshore, in the area where the coastline used to be, that we will find settlements of humans dating back to the time (and before) these footprints were made.

[outdoorloser]

Some people say that those are actually Mormon tracks.

[juanlapuente]

As evocative as it could seem to have the footprints of present day native Americans in White Sands, it is early to know if these footprints were really made by ancestors to the present population or by other peoples that dissappeared prior to the arrival of the ancestors of present native Americans. More reearch is needed and some bones associated to those footprints, or at least from the same time period. Actually, these footprints could be from hominins that were not even H.sapiens, as the possible human-made traces on mastodon bones in San Diego, there is no reason to assume that no hominin prior to H.sapiens arrived in America, we just have not found any traces yet.

[Julus]

Travelling, watching this wonderful documentaries became a awful experience on mobile without premium. At least 1-2, 30sec ads every 5-8min 😓😖

[bonoasante]

interesting doc but so much imaginative conjecture.

[davidbamford]

I assumed that the travois would have been used with two points in the sand. I recall seeing illustrations of North American indigenous tribes using a triangular frame to carry the materials of their teepees.

[davebrunette]

There is too much evidence out there. People have been in America a lot longer than we once believed.