The History of Shoes and Footwear

The History of Shoes and Footwear The history of shoes - that is to say, archaeological and paleoanthropological evidence for the earliest use of protective coverings for the human foot - appears to start during the Middle Paleolithic period of approximately 40,000 years ago. The Oldest Shoes The oldest shoes recovered to date are sandals found at several Archaic (~6500-9000 years bp) and a few Paleoindian (~9000-12,000 years bp) sites in the American southwest. Dozens of Archaic period sandals were recovered by Luther Cressman at the Fort Rock site in Oregon, direct-dated ~7500 BP. Fort Rock-style sandals have also been found at sites dated 10,500-9200 cal BP at Cougar Mountain and Catlow Caves. Others include the Chevelon Canyon sandal, direct-dated to 8,300 years ago, and some cordage fragments at the Daisy Cave site in California (8,600 years bp). In Europe, preservation has not been as fortuitous. Within the Upper Paleolithic layers of the cave site of Grotte de Fontanet in France, a footprint apparently shows that the foot had a moccasin-like covering on it. Skeletal remains from the Sunghir Upper Paleolithic sites in Russia (ca 27,500 years bp) appear to have had foot protection. Thats based on the recovery of ivory beads found near the ankle and foot of a burial. A complete shoe was discovered at the Areni-1 Cave in Armenia  and reported in 2010. It was a moccasin-type shoe, lacking a vamp or sole, and it has been dated to ~5500 years BP. Evidence for Shoe Use in Prehistory Earlier evidence for shoe use is based on anatomical changes that may have been created by wearing shoes. Erik Trinkaus has argued that wearing footwear produces physical changes in the toes, and this change is reflected in human feet beginning in the Middle Paleolithic period. Basically, Trinkaus argues that narrow, gracile middle proximal phalanges (toes) compared with fairly robust lower limbs implies localized mechanical insulation from ground reaction forces during heel-off and toe-off. He proposes that footwear was used occasionally by archaic Neanderthal and early modern humans in the Middle Paleolithic, and consistently by early modern humans by the middle Upper Paleolithic. The earliest evidence of this toe morphology noted to date is at the Tianyuan 1 cave site in Fangshan County, China, about 40,000 years ago. Concealed Shoes Historians have noted that shoes seem to have a special significance in some, perhaps many cultures. For example, in 17th and 18th century England, old, worn-out shoes were concealed in the rafters and chimneys of homes. Researchers such as Houlbrook suggest that although the precise nature of the practice is unknown, a concealed shoe may share some properties with other hidden examples of ritual recycling such as secondary burials, or may be a symbol of protection of the home against evil spirits. The time-depth of some particular significance of shoes appears to date from at least the Chalcolithic period: Tell Braks Eye-Temple in Syria included a limestone votive shoe. Houlbrooks article is a good starting point for people investigating this curious issue. Sources See the page on Fort Rock sandals from the University of Oregon for a detailed description of the shoes and a bibliography of site reports.Geib, Phil R. 2000 Sandal types and Archaic prehistory on the Colorado plateau. American Antiquity  65(3):509-524.Houlbrook C. 2013. Ritual, Recycling and Recontextualization: Putting the Concealed Shoe into Context. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 23(01):99-112.Pinhasi R, Gasparian B, Areshian G, Zardaryan D, Smith A, Bar-Oz G, and Higham T. 2010. First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands. PLoS ONE 5(6):e10984. Free to downloadTrinkaus, Erik 2005 Anatomical evidence for the antiquity of human footwear use. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(10):1515-1526.Trinkaus, Erik and Hong Shang 2008 Anatomical evidence for the antiquity of human footwear: Tianyuan and Sunghir. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(7):1928-1933.

Factors that determine your success as a kid

Factors that determine your success as a kid 13 Things You Need to Be A Successful Kid! Want to be successful and trying to determine some dependencies, which can make you such a person? Or are you a loving parent and want to make everything possible to bring up a prosperous person? Scientists have made thousands of investigations, directed on the examination of parent and children relations, behavior patterns and other facts. There is no doubt that parents and family environment are the determinants for kid’s further life. Children are absorbing all behavior and emotional patterns, so they are like a mirror of their parents. The scientists prove that even small habits and parent’s actions matter for kid’s success. So the most common things, which are characteristic for successful kids are: Doing chores Scientists prove that children, who are made to do chores, are more organized and disciplined. These children are more successful at school than the kids, who do not perform some kind of household duties. When a kid understands that he/she has the range of certain responsibilities, it is easier for them to adapt for educational or real life environment. Sufficient social skills As follows from the scientific research, one more success factor for kids is represented by the social skills, which they have developed due to their parents. If parents have active social positions and have quite a big circle of contacts, their children have all chances to develop their social skills and have more effective results in the communication. Parents with high expectations If parents feel reliance upon their children and plan their college education or carrier, this will motivate their children. In such a way kids make more efforts and feel more responsibility. Indifferent and not caring parents usually have less successful children with poor number of achievements. Healthy relations with parents When parents and children are friends, children have fewer reasons for deviant behavior.   Healthy relations with parents make children happier and more capable to cope with different situations, always feeling the support of their relatives. Parents with higher educational degree If parents have completed education in higher institution, their kids are more likely to do the same. And higher educational degree correspondingly means more chances for success in professional sphere. Scientists assure that the percentage of successful kids with certified parents is distinctively higher. Learning math from early on It was noticed by the meta-analysts, that children, who have background knowledge of numbers and their order, have better study results further. Besides, kids gain high achievements not only in math, but in other subjects and gain reading and writing skills faster. Warm and developed relationships with parents Thus, relationships with parents are the determinative factors for kids’ lives. That is great when kids ask advices, share their problems and have trust-based communication with their parents. Such kind of relations gives confidence and provides a moral support. Less stress The emotional state of parents is absorbed by their kids. So when parents have less stress situations, it is reflected positively on their children. Less stress gives more emotional strength and effectiveness by reaching different goals within the kid’s life. Effort to avoid failure When kids strive to avoid any sort of failures, using their abilities or making efforts to develop new ones, it is great if parents appreciate this. In such a way their parents create an image of persons who achieve success, no matter what failures and misfortunes are on their paths during lives. Working mom If a child has a mom who spends much time working and earning money he or she generates an example of the person who knows the value of a labor. Also such life conditions provide more time for children to develop independence and more â€Å"adultery† view on life from an early age. Higher socioeconomic status No wonder that the higher socioeconomic status of a person is, the more abilities for his or her children are accessible and there are more ways in life to follow. It is sad that people possess different socioeconomic statuses, but anyway, for those who set their goals and try to realize them, there exist no obstacles that can stop them. Authoritative parents Authoritativeness is best for the children bringing-up process. In such a way they learn from their closest people how to behave in a correct way without letting others do inappropriate things and perform not strict, but right control. Learning ‘grit’ â€Å"Grit† is the ability to achieve the goal on long-lasting terms, and if the children possess such a quality, they can more easily and possibly reach their goals, that they set for themselves. This feature is essential for those who want to bring their dreams into reality, no matter what.