and is believed to date to 3,500
B.C. Ötzi the Iceman's shoes,
dating to 3,300 BC, featured
brown bearskin bases, deerskin
side panels, and a bark-string
net, which pulled tight around
the foot. TheJotunheimen
shoe was discovered in August
2006. Archaeologists estimate
that the leather shoe was made
between 1800 and 1100 BCE,
making it the oldest article of
clothing discovered in
Scandinavia.
However, it is estimated that
shoes may have been used long
before this, but it is difficult to
find evidence of the earliest
footwear due to the highly
perishable nature of early
shoes.By studying the bones of
the smaller toes (as opposed to
the big toe), it was observed
that their thickness decreased
approximately 40,000 to
26,000 years ago. This led
archaeologists to deduce that
wearing shoes resulted in less
bone growth, resulting in
shorter, thinner toes. These
earliest designs were very
simple in design, often mere
"foot bags" of leather to protect
the feet from rocks, debris, and
cold. They were more
commonly found in colder
climates.
Many early natives in North
America wore a similar type of
footwear, known as the
moccasin. These are tightfitting, soft-soled shoes
typically made out of leather
Orbison hides. Many
moccasins were also decorated
with various beads and other
adornments. Moccasins were
not designed to be waterproof,
and in wet weather and warm
summer months, most Native
Americans went barefoot.
As civilizations began to
develop, thong sandals (the
precursors of the modern flipJOY FEELINGS | DECEMBER ISSUE
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