Footwear
Calzado
- Date
- c. 40 ka · confidence medium
- Place
- Tianyuan Cave, Zhoukoudian, Beijing, China (anatomical evidence)
- Credited to
- Homo sapiens
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Toe phalanges more gracile than in barefoot populations, attributed to the habitual use of rigid footwear. The feet from Sungir (32 ka) and the Ciur-Izbuc footprints corroborate this.
Indirect evidence; the oldest preserved footwear are sandals from Fort Rock (Oregon, c. 8000 BCE) and Areni-1 (Armenia, 3500 BCE).
What it led to
- Long treks over ice, snow and rock: colonisation of Siberia and Beringia
- Specialisation of the leather industry
- Fewer injuries and greater winter mobility
Built on
- Hide clothingc. 120 ka
- Eyed bone needlec. 50 ka
- Hide clothing
- Eyed bone needle