Those Who Walked Before

“A gripping narrative that transports readers to the glistening white sands of an ancient lake bed, hemmed in by mountains under the dusty New Mexico sun, as they brush away the literal sands of time that have obscured the footfall of Native Americans’ ancestors—the first Americans.” – Ed Jolie (Oglala Lakota / Hodulgee Muscogee), Clara Lee Tanner Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona
“I was so astounded by the discovery of the tracks that were imprinted billions of years ago during the time when mammoths, giant sloths, and dire wolves roamed this earth … but the amazing discovery was the footprints of humans, and these footprints lead back to stories of our ancestors who roamed this country and left behind their photographs of existence … although they are disappearing now, and it’s time for our ancestors to return to the end of the origin of their life’s meaning and to go to paradise and rest. Working with David Bustos and his team was very wonderful and rewarding, especially for all the work they did to uncover the beautiful footprints. I applaud them tremendously and thank them for their continuous dedication to keep up on new discoveries being made throughout the White Sands National Monument.” – Kim Charlie, Pueblo of Acoma

Matthew R. Bennett is a geoscience professor from the United Kingdom. He is one of the world’s leading authorities on vertebrate ichnology (the study of fossilized trackways), and he is the author of Our Dynamic Earth: A Primer.

David Bustos is the integrated resource-program manager at White Sands National Park, where he has investigated ancient human and megafauna footprints throughout the park for more than a decade.

Daniel Odess is an archaeologist with extensive experience conducting research in Alaska, northern Canada, and arctic Russia. He is a coeditor of Honoring Our Elders: A History of Eastern Arctic Archaeology.

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