The history of the land that became the United States stretches back much further than the nation’s founding. It includes colonial times and the pre-Columbian era with its mosaic of Native American cultures, plus the long-ago days when giant reptiles roamed the Earth and the first humans made their way onto the North American continent across the Bering Land Bridge.
Historic Sites
One of the nation’s oldest continuously occupied sites is the iconic Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico. The two multi-story historic structures are still occupied by around 75 of the village’s 1,400 residents. Visitors can tour the traditional Adobe homes and guided tours are offered year-round.
In southern New Mexico, fossilized footprints in a remote corner of White Sands National Park attest to human movement long before the colonists. Embedded in hardened gypsum soil, the footprints were surrounded by ancient grass seeds radiocarbon dated to between 21,130 and 22,860 years ago.
Other historic sites include the Effigy Mounds in Iowa, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Ohio, and Cahokia in Illinois. These sites showcase the rich history and cultural significance of the land that became the United States.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
