The Ichnological Record of Footwear: Some Thoughts and Experiments

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Approaches to Archaeological Footwear" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Human footprints have been found throughout the world. At White Sands (New Mexico) they hint at early human presence in the Americas, and during the summer of 2022 a new footprint site was reported from Utah. These sites are linked by their geological setting, dried lake beds and ancient playas, a common feature of the Americas. One question often asked is, Do any of these footprints show evidence of footwear? So far, the answer is no, although one tentative example was excavated in January 2022 at White Sands. The key to this is prospection but also data on what a shod footprint might look like. A moccasin, for example, might just soften the outline of a track and if the leather was smooth leave no trace but reduced anatomical definition. A beautiful sandal like those of Fort Rock might leave a clear pattern, and a one woven from yuccas another type of signature. We report a series of experiments with different types of Indigenous footwear. One of the key observations is that the track signature depends on the substrate properties as much as the footwear itself, and they may not be as easy to spot as one might think.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Approaches to Archaeological Footwear   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37085.0