Abstract
Archeological evidence suggests that footwear was in use by at least the middle Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) in portions of Europe, but the frequency of use and the mechanical protection provided are unclear from these data. A comparative biomechanical analysis of the proximal pedal phalanges of western Eurasian Middle Paleolithic and middle Upper Paleolithic humans, in the context of those of variably shod recent humans, indicates that supportive footwear was rare in the Middle Paleolithic, but that it became frequent by the middle Upper Paleolithic. This interpretation is based principally on the marked reduction in the robusticity of the lesser toes in the context of little or no reduction in overall lower limb locomotor robusticity by the time of the middle Upper Paleolithic.
Now the news article
http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/5584.html where I discovered this mentioned that
"Trinkaus argues that early humans living in far northern climates began to put insulation on their feet around 500,000 years ago."
Is there any evidence for this beyond the assumption that they would have frozen their feet without protection. The reason I ask is that we have historical accounts from Tierra del Fuego and Tasmania for modern humans surviving in cold, wet climates with minimal protection.
Allan Shumaker
