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Evidence of 22,000-year-old vehicles found at White Sands National Park
- happytoexplain 2y agoVery cool, but I thought this was going to be ancient-technology bullshit. I'd love to see quotes around "vehicle", or a different word.
- 9rx 2y agoMore specifically it is a travois, but a travois is a vehicle, and most people are going to have no clue what a travois is when casually reading a headline. They should know what a vehicle is. It is a common word. The top article on HN right now is in the same situation: "Why Tap a Wheel of Cheese?" What kind of cheese? Parmigiano Reggiano, it turns out. For the sake of the headline, did it really matter what kind of cheese, though? Not really. Cheese is fine. And vehicle is a perfectly fine word to describe what it is without getting too deep into jargon as well. What would you have selected instead?
- anon6362 2y agoDiscovery Channel Ancient Aliens II: The Search for More Money ;)
- Suppafly 2y ago>I'd love to see quotes around "vehicle", or a different word. I question why you, and so many others here, are so hung up the use of the word vehicle. Even if you weren't aware of the usage of drag type vehicles in the early Americas, you would at least envision something like a wagon, right? Or do you automatically assume vehicle is only self-propelled things like modern cars?
- jonathanhuml 2y agoThe pioneers used to ride these babies for miles!
- hackeraccount 2y agoBabies in these pioneer things used to ride for miles!
- anon6362 2y agoAnd sometimes baby pioneers.
- mikewarot 2y ago> (Even mammoths’ habit of dragging wood across the ground couldn’t have been the culprit, as no mammoth prints were found nearby, and the tracks would have likely been more erratic if created by mammoths.) I love that there's been enough research into the past that things like the behavioral habits of animals long gone are well known.
- travisgriggs 2y agoUsing the word vehicle in the title is one of the more clickbaity moves. Why not just “Evidence of 22,000 year old travois…”
- chneu 2y agovehicle /vē′ĭ-kəl/ noun A device or structure for transporting persons or things; a conveyance. "a space vehicle."
- happytoexplain 2y agoLots of clickbait is literally true.
- mint2 2y agoMost people have no idea what a travois is. The headline could have been evidence of a 22000 year old wheelbarrow like vehicle but I guess that was a mouthful. “Vehicle” is fine.
- travisgriggs 2y agoWhile vehicle does have a broad definition, I think that for “most people”, it is synonymous with the kind of conveyance that people ride in. Police officers say “get out of the vehicle please”. I’m pretty sure that when they encounter a rowdy Mardi Gras goer riding in a wheelbarrow, they do not say “get out of the vehicle please sir”.
- 9rx 2y ago> I think that for “most people”, it is synonymous with the kind of conveyance that people ride in. The article suggests that people riding in (or on, perhaps) was a common use for the vehicle.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- chneu 2y agoWhite Sands is one of those places that keeps delivering. It's changed our timeline of when people arrived in the Americans and it's completely changed how we think of them. Hopefully they have enough funding to keep doing what they're doing.
- kasey_junk 2y agoIt’s also one of the most alien feeling places I’ve been to. Cannot recommend a visit to the National Park enough and suspect it’s not more of a tourist destination just because it’s so remote.
- chneu 2y agoit's a really amazing place. Definitely worth the trek out there if you have the time/desire. Really, the entire great basin/american SW is fascinating. There are a bunch of spots out there that will blow most people away.
- alnwlsn 2y agoBeing on top of the sand dunes is truly bizarre. It was so bright that I could see perfectly well without glasses (bright light = small pupil diameter = small aperture = high depth of field), and is pure monochrome white for miles in every direction. Not that I'm likely to ever know, but that is probably what it felt like to be on the moon. It's only missing the black sky and 1/6 gravity.
- dilippkumar 2y agoThis is really cool. But I want to talk about how much free headspace Graham Hancock has managed to acquire. I thought about him the moment I saw this title. I'm sure some of you came to the comments looking for his name too.
- chneu 2y agolol nobody outside of joe rogaine and tiktok take hancock seriously. dude is an absolute scam artist and liar. hancock makes you stupid.
- robbiep 2y agoI couldn’t agree more, but as a 12 year old fingerprints of the gods got me started
- arresin 2y agoNo I disagree. He’s exactly what we need. Established dogma needs shaking up and to defend itself every now and then anew.
- codezero 2y agoEstablished science has no problem being challenged with evidence. Do the work.
- puppycodes 2y agoVehical is a stretch...
- 9rx 2y agoWhich is why they went with vehicle instead. A travois is a vehicle, absolutely.
- thenthenthen 2y ago…er
- puppycodes 2y agospelling was never my thing, but show me one person who's first mental image is a travois when they read vehicle. That being said... it's still pretty interesting :)
- 9rx 2y ago> show me one person who's first mental image is a travois when they read vehicle. I expect most wouldn't have the familiarity required to have that specific mental image, but perhaps something equally primitive? It is not like they would think there was a 22,000-year-old Lamborghini.
- puppycodes 2y agoI think the critism is that it sounds like some ancient aliens type of thing, but in fact its an interesting and dorky article about a cool discovery.
- 9rx 2y agoIf it were an ancient aliens type thing, don't you think the language would want to draw your attention in that direction? Like "...22,000-year-old spacecraft found..."
- tencentshill 2y ago2 sticks tied together that can carry supplies or a child. "Vehicles" is really stretching it.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- fritzo 2y agoA real stretcher, you might say
- tycho-newman 2y agoGotta stick to your convictions!
- 9rx 2y agoI appreciate how you slid that in there. But for how long can we drag this out?
- anon6362 2y agoUntil it's a burden weighing us down. Shift loads towards the ground and add skis.
- tycho-newman 2y agoI am comfortable branching out.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Suppafly 2y ago>"Vehicles" is really stretching it. Only if you don't agree with the definition of vehicle.
- stevenwoo 2y agoThe source essay has more photos and illustrations https://theconversation.com/fossil-footprints-reveal-what-may-be-the-oldest-known-handcarts-new-research-250438 https://theconversation.com/fossil-footprints-reveal-what-ma...
- ctrlp 2y agoIf you ever find yourself driving West to East with some extra time, Route 70 from I10/125 junction at Las Crucas on up to Alamogordo and on up to Roswell is a phenomenally pretty drive. The long slope straight slope coming down from Dripping Springs into White Sands is uniquely strange. And the mountains around the Sierra Blanca are cool and refreshing after the dry desert valley. One of many wonderful American Scenic Byways. For anyone who loves to drive, I always go out of my way to take them. https://scenicbyways.info/ https://scenicbyways.info/
- tycho-newman 2y agoBack in MY day, we didn't even have wheels!
- polishdude20 2y agoIs it possible those tracks could have also been made with a little wheel attached to the thing?
- codezero 2y agono reason to assume that given the lack of evidence for wheels in North America at that time, or even for many thousands of years later. Early (~2k+ years ago) examples of wheels are not found in the context of load bearing devices and are few and far between.
- grg0 2y agoI thought this was going to be some sort of ancient aliens shenanigan. "Space vehicle discovered in national park. It was just sitting there under the sand. There was even an alien inside; he was like, `yolo, been hidin'`."