CALVERT ISLAND, CANADA — Humans may have been stomping around Canada as early as 13,000 years ago — and they left footprints.<br /><br />According to a study published in the journal PLOS-ONE, researchers discovered an ancient human footprint along the coast of Canada's Calvert Island in 2014, before then uncovering 28 more in subsequent excavations.<br /><br />The well-preserved prints are believed to have been made by two barefoot adults and one child some 13,000 years ago.<br /><br />The foot impressions were left on light brown clay, which was filled in and preserved by sand, thick gravel, and another layer of clay.<br /><br />The findings lend support to the theory that ancient humans travelled from Asia to North America near the end of the last ice age by following a route along the Pacific coastline.<br /><br />Fossilized tracks are themselves rare, but these particular ones have also earned the distinction of being the oldest known human footprints found in North America.
