Scientists have discovered preliminary evidence of the existence of a transport technology used by the oldest known colonists in the area today is the United States, over 20,000 years old.
The research was published in the magazine Quaternary Science Advances.
A group of researchers at Bournemouth University has discovered a series of traces of drawing in the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. It is assumed that these traces were left by rudimentary vehicles, made of wooden sticks, which were found near ancient human traces.
Previous research by these researchers has shown that the age of some of the traces in the park is about 23,000 years, which allows the revision of historical chronologies and expanding the date of the earliest human activity in America.
“We know that our oldest ancestors must have used some kind of transport to transport their things when they migrated to the world, but the evidence in the form of wooden vehicles have been degraded,” said the study leader, Professor Matthew Bennett de at Bournemouth University. “These traces of pulling give us the first indication of how they were carrying their heavy and bulky loads before the appearance of wheels.”
The team discovered different types of traces during their research. Some of the traces were made up of a single line, probably formed by pulling two sticks tied at one end. Other traces consisted of two parallel lines, indicating that they were made of two sticks intersected in the middle. Such vehicles are known as “Travois”, historically used by the indigenous peoples of North America.
The length of the traces discovered varies between two and fifty meters and were kept in the dry mud, later buried by sediments. The presence of these traces next to human traces suggests that they were drawn by humans, not animals. Many of the traces seem to belong to the children, which led the researchers to the conclusion that groups of children accompanied or went to adults who were pulling “Volokushi”. The indigenous peoples who participated in research in the White Sands National Park agreed with this interpretation.
“Many people are familiar with the idea of pushing a shopping cart through the supermarket, moving from one place to another with children who cling to it. It seems to be the ancient equivalent of this, but without wheels, ”said Professor Bennett.
In order to confirm their theories, the team built their own simple wooden “Volokusha”, which he fired through the marshy puddles of Pool, Dorset, Great, and on the coast of Maine, USA.
“Within our experiments, the traces and lines in the experimental poles had the same aspect as the fossilized samples we found in New Mexico,” explained Professor Bennett.
“Every discovery we make in White Sands completes our understanding of the lives of the first people who settled in America. These people were the first migrants to arrive in North America, and understanding how they were moving is essential to tell their history, ”concluded the study co -author, Sally Reynolds of Bournemouth University.
