A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions it is vulnerable and shoes provide protection Form was originally tied to function but over time shoes also became fashion items Some shoes are worn as safety equipment such as steel-toe boots which are required footwear at industrial worksites Additionally shoes have often evolved into many different designs high heels for instance are most commonly worn by women during fancy occasions Contemporary footwear varies vastly in style complexity and cost Basic sandals may consist of only a thin sole and simple strap and be sold for a low cost High fashion shoes made by famous designers may be made of expensive materials use complex construction and sell for large sums of money Some shoes are designed for specific purposes such as boots designed specifically for mountaineering or skiing while others have more generalized usage such as sneakers which have transformed from a special purpose sport shoe into a general use shoe Traditionally shoes have been made from leather wood or canvas but are increasingly being made from rubber plastics and other petrochemical-derived materials Globally the shoe industry is a billion a year industry of shoes end up in landfills because the materials are hard to separate recycle or otherwise reuse History Antiquity Earliest evidence The earliest known shoes are sagebrush bark sandals dating from approximately or BC found in the Fort Rock Cave in the US state of Oregon in 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 the Areni- cave complex in Armenia in and is believed to date to BC tzi the Iceman’s shoes dating to BC featured brown bearskin bases deerskin side panels and a bark-string net which pulled tight around the foot The Jotunheimen shoe was discovered in August archaeologists estimate that this leather shoe was made between and BC making it the oldest article of clothing discovered in Scandinavia Sandals and other plant fiber based tools were found in Cueva de los Murci lagos in Albu ol in southern Spain in dating to approximately to BC making them what are believed to be the oldest shoes found in Europe It is thought that shoes may have been used long before this but because the materials used were highly perishable it is difficult to find evidence of the earliest footwear Footprints suggestive of shoes or sandals due to having crisp edges no signs of toes found and three small divots where leather tying laces straps would have been attached have been at Garden Route National Park Addo Elephant National Park and Goukamma Nature Reserve in South Africa These date back to between and BP Consistent with the existence of such shoe is the finding of bone awls dating back to this period that could have made simple footwear Another source of evidence is the study of the bones of the smaller toes as opposed to the big toe it was observed that their thickness decreased approximately to years ago This led archaeologists to deduce the existence of common rather than an occasional wearing of shoes as this would lead to less bone growth resulting in shorter thinner toes These earliest designs were very simple often mere foot bags of leather to protect the feet from rocks debris and cold Americas 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 be waterproof and in wet weather and warm summer months most Native Americans went barefoot The leaves of the sisal plant were used to make twine for sandals in South America while the natives of Mexico used the Yucca plant Africa and Middle East As civilizations began to develop thong sandals precursors to the modern flip-flop were worn This practice dates back to pictures of them in ancient Egyptian murals from BC Thebet may have been the term used to describe these sandals in Egyptian times possibly from the city Thebes The Middle Kingdom is when the first of these thebets were found but it is possible that it debuted in the Early Dynastic Period One pair found in Europe was made of papyrus leaves and dated to be approximately years old They were also worn in Jerusalem during the first century of the Christian era Thong sandals were worn by many civilizations and made from a vast variety of materials Ancient Egyptian sandals were made from papyrus and palm leaves The Masai of Africa made them out of rawhide In India they were made from wood While thong sandals were commonly worn many people in ancient times such as the Egyptians Hindus 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 Asia and Europe 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 Athletes in the Ancient Olympic Games participated barefoot and naked Even the gods and heroes were primarily depicted barefoot as well as the hoplite warriors They fought battles in bare feet and Alexander the Great conquered his vast empire with barefoot armies The runners of Ancient Greece had also been believed to have run barefoot 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…
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