The earliest known shoes are
sandals dating from approximately 7,000 or 8,000
B.C., found in the
Fort Rock Cave in the
US state of
Oregon. in 1938.
[1] The world's oldest
leather shoe, made from a single piece of cowhide laced with a leather cord along seams at the front and back, was found in a cave in
Armenia in 2008 and is believed to date to 3,500 B.C.
[2][3] 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.
[2] 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.
[4] 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.
[5] 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 tight-fitting, soft-soled shoes typically made out of
leather or
bison hides. Many moccasins were also decorated with various beads and other adornments. Moccasins were not designed to get wet, and in wet weather and warm summer months, most
Native Americans went
barefoot.
[6]
While thong sandals were commonly worn, many people in ancient times, such as the
Egyptians,
Hindu and
Greeks, saw little need for footwear, and most of the time, preferred being
barefoot. The Egyptians and Hindus made some use of ornamental footwear, such as a soleless
sandal known as a "Cleopatra", which did not provide any practical protection for the foot. The ancient Greeks largely viewed footwear as self-indulgent, unaesthetic and unnecessary. Shoes were primarily worn in the theater, as a means of increasing stature, and many preferred to go barefoot.
[10] Athletes in the
Ancient Olympic Games participated barefoot – and naked.
[11] Even the
gods and heroes were primarily depicted barefoot, and the
hoplite warriors fought battles in bare feet and
Alexander the Great conquered his vast empire with barefoot armies. The runners of
Ancient Greece are also believed to have run barefoot.
Pheidippides, the first
marathoner, ran from
Athens to
Sparta in less than 36 hours.
[12] After the
Battle of Marathon, he ran straight from the battlefield to Athens to inform the Athenians of the news.
[13]
The
Romans, who eventually conquered the Greeks, and adopted many aspects of their culture, did not adopt the Greek perception of footwear and clothing.
Roman clothing was seen as a sign of power, and footwear was seen as a necessity of living in a civilized world, although the slaves and paupers usually went barefoot.
[10] There are many references to shoes being worn in the
Bible. During weddings of this period, a father would give his son-in-law a pair of shoes, to symbolize the transfer of authority.
[14] Slaves were also commonly barefoot, and shoes were considered badges of freedom since biblical times:
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put [it] on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on [his] feet (
Luke 15:22).
A common casual shoe in the
Pyrenees during the Middle Ages are
espadrilles. These are sandals with braided jute soles and a fabric upper portion, and often includes fabric laces that tie around the ankle. The term is
French and comes from the
esparto grass. The shoes originate in the
Catalonian region of
Spain as early as the 13th century, and were commonly worn by
peasants in the farming communities in the area.
[9]
By the 15th Century,
pattens became popular by both men and women in
Europe. These are commonly seen as the predecessor of the modern
high-heeled shoe,
[15] while the poor and lower classes in Europe, as well as slaves in the New World, were barefoot.
[10] In the 15th century, the
Crakow was
fashionable in
Europe. This style of shoe is named because it is thought to have originated in
Kraków, the capitol of
Poland. The style is characterized by the point of the shoe, known as the "polaine", which often was supported by a
whalebone tied to the knee to prevent the point getting in the way while walking.
[16] Also during the 15th century,
chopines were created in
Turkey, and were usually 7-8 inches (17.7-20.3 cm) high. These shoes became popular in
Venice and throughout Europe, as a
status symbolrevealing wealth and social standing. During the 16th century, royalty started wearing high-heeled shoes to make them look taller or larger than life, such as
Catherine de Medici or
Mary I of England. By 1580, even men wore them, and a person with authority or wealth was often referred to as, "well-heeled".
[15]
Many medieval shoes were made using the
turnshoe method of construction, in which the upper was turned flesh side out, and was lasted onto the sole and joined to the edge by a seam. The shoe was then turned inside-out so that the grain was outside. Some shoes were developed with toggled flaps or
drawstrings to tighten the leather around the foot for a better fit. The turnshoe method was replaced by the welted method around 1500.
[17]
Eventually the modern shoe, with a sewn-on sole, was devised. Since the 17th century, most leather shoes have used a sewn-on sole. This remains the standard for finer-quality dress shoes today. Until around 1800, shoes were made without differentiation for the left or right foot. Such shoes are now referred to as "straights".
[18] Only gradually did the modern foot-specific shoe become standard.
Since the mid-20th Century, advances in rubber, plastics, synthetic cloth, and industrial adhesives have allowed manufacturers to create shoes that stray considerably from traditional crafting techniques. Leather, which had been the primary material in earlier styles, has remained standard in expensive dress shoes, but athletic shoes often have little or no real leather. Soles, which were once laboriously hand-stitched on, are now more often machine stitched or simply glued on. Many of these newer materials, such as rubber and plastics, have made shoes less biodegradable. It is estimated that most mass-produced shoes require 1000 years to degrade in a
landfill.
[19] In the late 2000s, some shoemakers picked up on the issue and began to produce shoes made entirely from
degradable materials, such as the
Nike Considered.
[20][21]
In 2007, the global shoe industry had an overall market of
$107.4 billion, in terms of
revenue, and is expected to grow to $122.9 billion by the end of 2012. Shoe manufacturers in the
People's Republic of China account for 63% of production, 40.5% of global exports and 55% of industry revenue. However, many manufacturers in
Europe dominate the higher-priced, higher value-added end of the market.
[22]
Culture and folklore
As an integral part of human culture and civilization, shoes have found their way into our culture, folklore, and art. A popular 18th century
nursery rhyme is
There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. This story tells about an old woman living in a shoe with a lot of children. In 1948, Mahlon Haines, a shoe salesman in
Hallam, Pennsylvania, built an actual house shaped like a
work boot as a form of advertisement. The
Haines Shoe House was rented to newlyweds and the elderly until his death in 1962. Since then, it has served as an
ice cream parlor, a
bed and breakfast, and a
museum. It still stands today and is a popular roadside attraction.
[23]
Athletic sneaker collection has also existed as a part of urban subculture in the United States for several decades.
[24] Recent decades have seen this trend spread to European nations such as the
Czech Republic.
[25] A
Sneakerhead is a person who owns multiple pairs of shoes as a form of collection and fashion. A contributor to the growth of sneaker collecting is the continued worldwide popularity of the
Air Jordan line of sneakers designed by
Nike for
Basketball star
Michael Jordan.
In the
Holy Bible's
Old Testament, the shoe is used to symbolize something that is worthless or of little value. In the
New Testament, the act of removing one's shoes symbolizes servitude. The
Semites regarded the act of removing their shoes as a mark of reverence when approaching a sacred person or place.
[26] In the
Book of Exodus,
Moses was instructed to remove his shoes before approaching the burning bush:
Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground (
Exodus 3:5).
The removal of the shoe also symbolizes the act of giving up a legal right. In
Hebrew custom, the widow removed the shoe of her late husband's brother to symbolize that he had abandoned his duty. In
arab custom, the removal of one's shoe also symbolized the dissolution of marriage.
[26]
In
Arab culture, showing the sole of your shoe is considered an insult, and to
throw your shoe and hit someone with it, is considered an even greater insult. This is because the shoe is considered dirty because it touches the ground and is associated with the lowest part of the body — the
foot. As such, shoes are forbidden in
mosques, and it is also considered rude to cross your legs and display your soles to someone when talking to them. This insult was demonstrated in
Iraq, first when
Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in 2003, Iraqis gathered around it and struck the statue with their shoes.
[27] Secondly, in 2008,
United States President
George W. Bush had a shoe thrown at him by a journalism as a statement against the war that was brought to Iraq and the lives that it has cost.
[28]
Empty shoes may also symbolize death. In
Greek culture, empty shoes are the equivalent of the American funeral wreath. For example, empty shoes placed outside of a Greek home would tell others that the family's son has died in battle.
[29] At an observation memorializing the 10th anniversary of the
September 11 attacks, 3,000 pairs of empty shoes were used to recognize those killed.
[30]
