Wearing shoes or flip-flops is the norm in 2023. It is more comfortable to walk with shoes because it can prevent injury to the feet. Scientists however do not know when our ancestors started wearing shoes. But researchers from South Africa say they have found evidence of humans wearing shoes between 70,000-130,000 years ago in their country's Southern Cape coastal region.
A total of 350 former human footprints have been detected in this area. Usually the soles of human feet complete with toes can be seen. Researchers hypothesize that footprints that do not show big toes were left by humans wearing primitive shoes or sandals. Based on the estimated age of the sites left behind, shoes may have been worn by Middle Stone Age humans.
No specimen of this early shoe has ever been found because it must have been lost to time. But the primitive drawings left behind by the San gave the idea it was made of plants. Scientists also don't know why humans started wearing shoes. Perhaps for the comfort of walking long distances or to avoid fatal injuries tens of thousands of years ago.
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