The Oldest Shoe In The World

Shoes with "modern sense" are well preserved by sheep dung and dry.

The oldest known in the world

In 2010

It was found in an American cave.

It is not produced by morrow.

However, the world's oldest shoes displayed on Wednesday are familiar with and surprised by one of the world's best shoe designers.

"This is amazing," he said by e-mail. "These shoes are exactly the same as modern shoes!"

In a recent American cave excavation, it was filled with grass, perhaps warm material or shoe last. 5500 years old shoes resembling soft leather flat shoes were kept intact when they were discovered, thanks to a lot of sheep manure.

This shoe is about 7 yards from the American lady now, probably the shoemaker's right foot for her owner.

The sex of the host is hard to judge, because the size of the American foot is not enough.

This shoe is made of a whole cow hide, and the front and rear parts of the shoe are tied with strings.

Such a "whole cut" design will be expensive if it is on the shoes.

"This leather is cut into two layers and is dark brown, which is probably a new technology," explains Ron Pinhasi, one of the leaders of the excavation.

Yvette Worrall, a staff member of the British Conker hand-made shoemaking company, added: "according to my guess, the leather is first wetted and cut according to the shape of the foot, that is, the foot is the last mold for the shoe when it is stitched."

Though so old, the final product looks surprisingly similar to the brand of blac's.

Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata footwear Museum in Toronto, Canada, said: "I was completely shocked at the moment of seeing it, because it is very similar to a traditional Balkan Peninsula shoe called Opanke. Until today, Opanke will still be worn as a traditional costume at festivals.

"I suddenly discovered, well, there wasn't much change."

Display extraordinary protection

Carbon isotopes can be traced back to 3500 BC. In the copper age of the United States, the shoes and feet of these prehistoric shoes were obviously squeezed, probably due to long distance walking.

But the shoes were not damaged.

Shoes in this period are extremely rare, because leather and plant materials are usually degraded more rapidly.

But the substance in a well in the cave was copied to Areni-1 - sealed by several layers of sheep manure and accumulated in the copper age when people left the cave.

"The environment in the cave keeps the shoes cool and dry, and sheep dung strengthens the environment," said PInhasi, the main author of the new PLOS ONE Wednesday magazine.

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Why are the oldest leather shoes made?

The protection of feet is probably one of the main reasons for people to wear shoes, and the oldest leather shoes are no exception.

Around the cave, "it's rough and there's a lot of sharp stones and prickly shrubs."

Gregory Areshian, co-author of the study, said archaeologist at California University.

He was sponsored by the National Geographic Society Research and Development Committee.

(National Geographic Society is the owner of National Geographic News.

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In addition, such shoes can help people cope with extreme temperatures in the area (up to 113 (45 degrees) in summer and below freezing point in winter) and enhance their hiking capacity.

"These people walked a long distance.

We found obsidian in the cave, which was produced at least 75 miles (120 kilometers) away, "he said.

Shoe designer Ben La Ni speculated that such a simple shoe is not only practical but also a trend.

"Obviously, the function of this shoe is to protect the feet, but I have no doubt that every particular shape belongs to a tribe," he said. He is knowledgeable about his identity through clothing. "I am sure that this is one of the ways a particular tribe distinguishes itself from other tribes in clothing."

It's not the oldest shoe in the world.

Previously, the oldest known complete shoe belonged to Rtzi, an ice man discovered in the alpine region of Austria in 1991. He died 5300 years ago.

Sandals have a longer history.

The earliest samples can be traced back to 7000 years ago, in the excavation of Arnold cave in central Missouri.

However, the history of wearing shoes is earlier than the oldest known ones.

A degenerated toe bone in a human fossil for 40000 years is the proof of the emergence of shoes.

According to Jacqui Wood, an independent archaeologist in Britain, the oldest leather shoes are very fit compared with Rtzi shoes.

Wood studied Rtzi shoes and said the new research theory is reliable.

"Ice man's shoes are in general another category," Wood said.

"The sole is made of brown bear skin, the upper is made of deer skin, and the inner layer is made of wooden (Shu Pi) string net, which is entangled on the feet."

In contrast, Armenia style shoes are the most original, and this style is popular around the world after people decide not to be barefoot again.

Although similar shoes have been found in different regions of different periods, research co-operative Pinhasi and Areshian believe that this style originated from the American Armenia view is reasonable.

"Many other inventions, such as rotary ceramics, wedge and wool production, were produced in the Near East," Pinhasi said.

"So the United States - Armenia gave us the earliest clues to the prototype of our shoes, and later spread to Europe."

Rebecca Shawcross, a shoe historian in Northampton, UK, said: "it is not difficult to put forward sufficient reasons for the design of this kind of shoes as the originator of soft leather flat shoes, because this effect can be seen from today's shoes - canvas shoes, soft bottom casual men's shoes and so on.

The world's oldest leather shoes

As MOCA's new puzzle is almost completely solved, there are more mysteries in the Areni-1 research group waiting to be unveiled.

In addition to the shoes, the ancient goat dung was also found in the corner of a wild goat, in the bones of a red deer and in a buttoned basin.

"These things are really weird," Pinhasi said. "If they had any symbolic significance, I wouldn't be surprised at all." the meaning of these words will be revealed in the summer, when the new excavation period comes when Areni-1 comes.

The discovery of the oldest leather shoes in the world is sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the Chitjian Foundation (Losangeles) and the Joe Gfoeller, the Steinmetz family foundation, the Boochever foundation and the Cotsen Archaeology Society of the Gfoeller foundation.