Posted on 10/23/2022 12:40:47 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Thousands of years ago, a swath of land along what is now the western coast of England served as a superhighway for humans and animals alike. Today, the ebb and flow of each passing tide reveals more of the ancient footprints that these long-gone travelers stamped into the once mud-caked route.
Reminders of their travels can be seen along a nearly 2-mile-long (3 kilometers) stretch of coastline near Formby, England. The footprint beds show how, as glaciers melted and sea levels rose after the last ice age ended around 11,700 years ago, humans and animals were forced inland, thus forming a hub of human and animal activity seen in the commingled footprints.
In a new study published in the October issue of Nature Ecology and Evolution(opens in new tab), researchers found that the trackways, some of which are more than 8,000 years old, date from the Mesolithic period, or Middle Stone Age (15,000 B.C. to 50 B.C.) to medieval times (from A.D. 476 to A.D. 1450). Researchers recovered seeds from alder, birch and spruce trees scattered within the layers of the route and radiocarbon-dated them to pinpoint the age of the tracks.
In total, there are a dozen "well-preserved" footprint beds, some of which are stacked, creating roughly 36 exposed layers, or "outcrops." These patchworks of prints contain foot impressions from not only humans but a variety of animals, including aurochs (an extinct species of ox), red deer, wild boars, wolves, lynx and cranes.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Well played.
My favorite song.
Hey, quit buckin’ the partisan media narrative! ;^)
Thanks. Great reference.
I was just listening to a Tides of History podcast, and Patrick Wyman said that he thinks there will be a lot more research into Doggerland in the next twenty years. Underwater archaeology is really advancing, and Doggerland is located near rich countries with lots of universities doing archaeology.
Beringia, not so much, plus freepin cold.
My pleasure.
Yes, I listen to The Tides of History as well among others. It’s a favorite.
Besides Beringia, there seems to be a lot along the coast of British Columbia that has yet to be discovered. It seems that it could be the main path of migration into North America rather than an inside route.
Looks like the sea levels are not rising, but falling.
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