The earliest evidence of transport vehicles is the 22,000-year-old trucks

Drugmarks and human footprints, composed up to 22,000 years ago, have been found at several sites in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. These are thought to have been made by people pulling long pieces of wood stacked with goods, and are the earliest evidence of such activities.

This type of primitive vehicle is known as the trabore. “It’s basically a wheelless wheel.” Matthew Bennett He is a member of a team studying track at Bournemouth University in the UK.

They were widely used all over the world, but this is the oldest evidence of their use, says Bennett. “Nothing is this old.”

There are many ancient animal footprints in the ancient arid lake of White Sands, but in 2017, human footprints were discovered. In 2019, the team found a long drug mark in connection with human footprints.

“They happen in many different regions, so it was widespread,” Bennett says. “It’s not just an original family using travois.”

Some of the drag marks are made up of a single row. The team believes this was made by a trabore made up of two long wood joined in the form of a triangle. One end of each piece is held in one hand, but there is only a single point of contact on the ground.

The other drag marks consist of two parallel lines. These were probably the result of a trabore where two wood intersected in an x-shape, providing two handles and two ground contact points, which would have been more stable.

Drugmarks often pass through the footsteps of people who are supposed to be pulling a travoy, as expected. In some cases, there are parallel tracks with footprints (often children’s footprints), indicating that others are walking together.

Elsewhere in the world, Trabois was often pulled by dogs and horses, says Bennett, but there is no evidence that white sand people used animals.

Footprint dates, Announced in 2021 challenging the traditional idea that humans did not move to America until the ice sheet began retreating about 15,000 years ago.

“The people in the US debate are very controversial, but we’re pretty confident about the date,” says Bennett. “The traditional story is that the ice sheets have parted ways and they have come, but you can go through before the door closes.” Another recent discovery is that humans have 33,000 years ago. It suggests that they may have reached the Americas.

Bennett says it’s very likely that there are tracks around the world that are not aware of what they are. In fact, he says his team has already discovered similar markings elsewhere in the US.