Humans were wearing shoes at least 10,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study. The evidence comes from a 40,000-year-old human fossil with delicate toe bones indicative of habitual shoe-wearing, experts say. A previous study of anatomical changes in toe bone structure had dated the use of shoes to about 30,000 years ago. Now the dainty-toed fossil from China suggests that at least some humans were sporting protective footwear 10,000 years further back, during a time when both modern humans and Neandertals occupied portions of Europe and Asia.
     Study author Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said the scarcity of toe bone fossils makes it hard to determine when habitual shoe-wearing became widespread. However, he noted, even Neandertals may have been strapping on sandals. Regular shoe use may have become common by 40,000 years ago, but "we still have no [additional] evidence from that time period—one way or the other," the scientist said.
     In a previous study, Trinkaus found that shoe-wearing and barefoot human groups show characteristic differences in the size and strength of their middle toe bones. Consistent shoe use results in a more delicate bone structure, because footwear reduces the force on middle toes during walking. In his latest study, this anatomical evidence allowed Trinkaus to date the origin of shoes to a period long before the oldest known shoe remains.
     Elizabeth Semmelhack curates the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. She said given what we know about the effects of shoe-wearing, Trinkaus' approach makes perfect sense. "The simple act of wearing shoes alters the structure of our feet," Semmelhack said. "It's interesting that [Trinkaus] is looking at these prehistoric remains and coming to the same conclusions."
     The first forms of protective footwear probably evolved from simple wrappings used to insulate the feet from snow and freezing temperatures, experts say. Some anthropologists have suggested that even the earliest shoes may have served a more symbolic than protective function. Beads found around the ankles and feet of human skeletons dated to 27,000 years ago suggest the presence of decorated footwear, Trinkaus said.

Source: National Geographic News (1 July 2008)