Official: 3,000-year-old footprints located in Tucson, Ariz., construction site
Jan 26, 2016, 9:00 AM
(Photo: Arizona Daily Star)
(Photo: Arizona Daily Star)
PHOENIX — History was unveiled last week as workers in Tucson, Arizona, pushed forward with the construction of a bridge and interstate connection in the area, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Dan Arnit of Innovative Excavating was working to connect two roads near the Interstate 10 when he came across a set of prehistoric human footprints.
“I saw what looked like a heel,” he said in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star.
The footprints were found in the mud of an ancient irrigated field. They were dried solid and were covered with sediment nearly 3,000 years ago, the article said. Arnit said he scratched away at the dirt, revealing a complete set of human footprints.
“The closer I came to the toe I started shaking,” he said in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star.
An investigation revealed several more sets of footprints: Adult, children and domesticated canine. According to the article, the discovery is a first for archaeology in the region.
In 2009, workers found a myriad of hand-dug canals, pit houses and cooking pits at the site of the Ina Road Wastewater Treatment Plant, revealing the existence of Native American settlements along the Santa Cruz River.
Officials said even though the entire area will not be excavated, the work at the site is being done with county regulations that require archaeological, environmental and historical analyses. The work will not delay the construction of the road and bridge over Santa Cruz.
