This
morning, for some strange reason, I woke up thinking about shoes. I wandered
into my closet, curious about the number I had accumulated over the years and
was astonished to find thirty-two pairs. How the heck did so many shoes get into my
closet?!
Americans
love their shoes, as do most societies where fashion trumps practicality. Do we
really need so many shoes? Women are the worst culprits. It’s a luxury to have
a vast selection to choose from and fashion forbids us from pairing the wrong
shoes with our outfits. Think of the anarchy that would ensue should we pick
strappy sandals over pumps. Oh, the humanity!!
But
shoes didn’t start out as tools of fashion. The shoe evolved out of sheer
necessity.
Try to
imagine venturing cross-country with nothing between your feet and the torturous
ground on which you tread. Rocky outcrops, razor-like switch grass, not to
mention the temperature extremes of blazing deserts and icy tundra, would be
pure hell. I’m guessing our clever ancestors took to shodding their feet soon
after they discovered the benefits of clothing. If you can protect your torso
by wrapping it in hides, why not your feet? They were no dummies, our
ancestors…
One of
the oldest shoes was found a few years ago, tucked inside an Armenian cave.
Dated to over fifty-five hundred years ago, this leather moccasin was made from cowhide and
laced with a leather cord. It had the good fortune of being buried beneath a
dense layer of sheep dung, thus the exceptional preservation, but footwear goes
back much further in human history.
One of
the earliest forms of shoes appears to be the sandal, which is not surprising,
considering its basic design. Ten-thousand-year-old sandals have been recovered
from Fort Rock Cave in central Oregon, proving again what excellent preservation
caves afford.
Curious
sidenote: Do we find these ancient shoes in caves because people happened to be
living there, or were caves the precursors to today’s walk-in closets?
Something to think about.
But back
to the Fort Rock sandals. They ranged in size from adult to child and showed
the wear and tear of countless miles, some still sporting the mud from
prehistoric landscapes. Some even held the imprint of its owner’s foot: faint
impressions of a hunter who traipsed through the Oregon woods in search of
game.
And
speaking of feet, some of our evidence for shoes comes directly from studying
the feet of our ancestors. Scientists have noted changes in the bones of our
feet that may have occurred secondary to adopting footwear, possibly going back forty thousand years. Even today, shoes are reshaping our feet. Unfortunately, many of
these changes are detrimental. In fact, for all the protection shoes can
afford, many of the styles we sport come with repercussions.
Some
evolutionists believe shoes have actually made our feet less healthy. The
excellent support afforded by cushioned soles may feel luxurious, but can
actually lead to weakened arches and flat feet. Thick soles also cause
diminished sensation between foot and ground, which means lack of communication
between foot and brain, putting you at risk for missteps and stumbles. And
don’t even get me started on high heels. Yes, those stilettos may look sexy,
but they’re doing your body no favors. Stress fractures, bunions, and
hammertoes are just the beginning of chronic problems associated with high
heels, not to mention back strain and deformation of your calf muscles, which
actually become shortened with excessive wear. 
While
high heels present problems, so do their counterparts, the flats. Ballet flats,
which are all the rage, provide little to no shock absorption; a real problem
especially for those flat-footed individuals. They can also cause tendonitis
and heel pain and provide scant protection against bottle tops and broken
glass. But one of the biggest culprits is the flip-flop. Here in my home state
of Florida, flip-flops are as prevalent as retirees (and frequently found in
unison). The flip-flop is the next best thing to being barefooted, which is
great for those sunbaked beaches, but provides little protection in the real
world. Most are too thin and they leave the foot exposed to environmental hazards - such as that friend who chooses the stilettos - and, let’s face it, they fall short of attractive.
So the
next time you reach for a pair of shoes, choose wisely. Select your shoes as
you would select a mate: something that’s well made, practical but stylish, and
most important, the perfect fit.
Related Posts
The Beauty of Feet
