Where shoes a common invention by the time Homo Sapiens came on the scene?
Jack X asked:
In other words, were shoes used by species prior to Humans? Homo Habilis and Erectus? I would imagine it would be animal skins?
In other words, were shoes used by species prior to Humans? Homo Habilis and Erectus? I would imagine it would be animal skins?
I know of no evidence to that effect, so we’re once more stuck in the guessing game. There are still homo sapiens, such as myself, who don’t much care for shoes. I know I’m more likely to wear them in a cold environment.
Isn’t leather animal skin?
I LOVE shoe-shopping, it’s in my blood, in my genes. I suspect it’s an ancestral trait that goes all the way back to my Australopithecene ancestors even. Dude, LOVE it.
This is actually a great question. I do not know of any scholarly studies which present any evidence for or against the idea, but given that our ancestral genus (Homo) spread all the way to temperate regions during a glacial phase of the Pleistocene, I would imagine that they would have appreciated, at least, moccasins, and it is difficult to imagine neanderthals and sapiens traversing parts of northern Europe without some podiatric protection.
I doubt enough credit is given to early early humans for they were the foundation which has made everything possible. Covering the body was necessary sorta an early form of armour that protected from insects and sun. I suppose near the ocean, you can find sponges. Thin bark is fairly flexible. Lots of things that could be tied or filled between layers of animal skin. They shopped at nature’s supermarket.
To find shelter in another species skin/shell is not so unusual in nature.