The oldest known shoes in Europe are around 6,000 years old and in South Africa it was believed that people did not start wearing shoes until around 2,000 years ago. But trace fossils found on three ancient surfaces found on the coast of the Cape of Good Hope have radically changed this idea.
According to this new evidence, in the Stone Age (between 75,000 and 150,000 years ago), humans who lived in that region already used some type of footwear to walk on the beach, as revealed by research from the Institute of Evolutionary Studies of the University of Wits.
"We all assumed that these people usually walked barefoot. However, at that time the southern coast of the Cape had very sharp rocks. It makes sense that they would wear shoes to protect themselves. One hundred thousand years ago, a foot injury could have been fatal," says Dr. Bernhard Zipfel, lead author of the study.
The fact is not minor. Because these findings could mean that our species had complex cognitive and practical abilities much earlier than previously thought. Zipfel and his team's theory reveals at least three footprint sites on the southern coast of the Cape that may have been created by shod humans.
Scientists have used an analysis method known as ichnology, which focuses on studying footprints and fossil traces, helping in the search for evidence of the use of some type of footwear. Conclusive evidence for what types of shoes ancient hominids wore is remote, as leather and plant materials would have biodegraded.
Zipfel and his companions considered the option of searching for clues in ancient "causeways." However, the global record of sites with footprints is scarce and only four sites more than 30,000 years old have been postulated. All of them are located in Western Europe and one is a place used by Neanderthals.
So they chose to open a secondary route based on recent archaeological evidence of sandals worn by the San, the Bushman hunter-gatherer people who speak one of the Joisan languages that incorporate clicking and clicking.
The researchers improvised primitive footwear and walked up and down the same beaches that Stone Age hominids trod. They walked in various conditions and were able to study their footprints in both dry and wet sand. They then compared the results with archaeological sites between 70,000 and 150,000 years old. "There were amazing correlations," they say.
Dr. Bernhard Zipfel, who is also a podiatrist, believes that the type of footwear these ancient ancestors wore were what we know today as flip-flops. "It was important that the shoes they wore stood up to environmental concerns," he explains.
"Although our evidence is inconclusive, we are satisfied with our findings. It is worth noting that the research findings strongly suggest that the southern African region has been a center for the development of cognitive and practical skills for a long time. period," concludes Zipfel.
