This experiment showed that V-shaped travois produced deep, single grooves, often intersecting footprints. Meanwhile, ...

The travois, then, is an example of non-wheel transport. “There’s nothing this old,” Bennett said. “[Tracks like this] occur in lots of different areas [of White Sands National Park], so ...

Others display two parallel marks, likely left by an X-shaped travois with greater stability. The longest tracks extend 164 feet, while the shortest measures just over six feet. A 2000 year old ...

They also serve as evidence of one of the oldest vehicles of all time—what’s known as a travois. The linear tracks from the poles and human footprints both date to roughly 22,000 years ago..

Researchers from the U.S. and U.K. have discovered what may be one of the earliest signs of transportation technology: 23,000-year-old human footprints next to drag marks in New Mexico’s White ...

”The ichnology of White Sands (New Mexico),” Bennett et. al., 2025. On the left is a photo of footprints found at White Sands National Park, showing both an adult footprints and a child’s ...

Researchers think the grooves are the remnants of tracks left behind by “travois,” an ancient transport vehicle used before the invention of the wheel.

Ancient footprints and drag marks at White Sands National Park in New Mexico suggest the earliest known Americans dragged wooden travois-like vehicles.