News wall: Desperate dash of mother and child

Scientists have discovered the longest ancient human footpath. The prehistoric passage of fossilised footprints – found in New Mexico – dates from the end of the last Ice Age (around 12,000 years ago) and was likely made by “a woman carrying a young child. For some reason, she rushed through the muddy field at an impressive speed. She then returned the same way without the toddler, and may have discovered that both a sloth and a mammoth had crossed her path in the meantime.” The trackway is said to be remarkably straight but nevertheless holds the twists and turns of a dramatic human-interest story about a mother and child struggling for survival in a hostile environment.