Archeological Miracle Unearthed In Arizona

Arizona is an archeologists paradise. The desert landscape has preserved some of the best evidence of prehistoric activity in human history, from dinosaur footprints to ancient forests.

These remnants give us a brief look at history 65 million years ago, but history didn't start with the dinosaurs, and one Arizona man has the evidence now to prove the past was more complex than we ever imagined.

Accidental Archeologist

After a long and prosperous law career in Chicago, James Lang decided to head to the Grand Canyon State to retire in peace. He bought some property in Snowflake, and began to settle down. One day he was walking around his property and he noticed a piece of earth sticking out of the ground, and it had footprints. He immediately took the rock back to his home, and started looking around the area for more.

Over the course of several years, Lang assembled all the pieces he could find, eventually reconstructing a walking path for prehistoric animals. He brought this to the attention of the New Mexico Museum of History and Natural Science, where the prints are currently being researched.

Read More: Arizona's Prehistoric Past!

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Not Dinosaurs, Archosaurs!

The tracks found on Lang's property could have been considered dinosaur footprints to the untrained eye, but they're actually much, much older. The footprints belong to pre-prehistoric lizards that roamed the earth hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs inherited the planet.

The footprints were initially laid in clay that coated the American southwest, before eventually being preserved in the sandstone we all know and love today. They're the most well-preserved find in North America, only beat out by tracks found in Germany.

This is a massive find that will change the way we view the past for centuries to come, and it all starts in Arizona.

[AZ Family]