Author:
Ledoux Lysianna,Berillon Gilles,Fourment Nathalie,Muth Xavier,Jaubert Jacques
Abstract
AbstractHumans appear to have regularly worn footwear since at least the Early Upper Palaeolithic. However, due to the perishable nature of footwear, the archaeological record of its presence during the Pleistocene is poor. While footwear would have played an essential role in protecting the foot, it could also have been used as ornamentation and/or as a social marker. Footprints may provide the most relevant insight regarding the origin and function of footwear. Here we report the discovery of footprints in Cussac Cave (southwest France) at 28–31 ka cal BP and the results of a multi-focal approach, including experimentation, that demonstrate that Gravettian people most likely wore footwear while moving through the cave. These singular footprints would constitute one of the oldest cases of indirect evidence for this unusual practice in decorated Palaeolithic caves and reinforce the exceptional nature of Cussac already attested by the presence of monumental engravings and funerary deposits.
Funder
Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Institut écologie et environnement
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference46 articles.
1. Gilligan, I. Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory: Linking Evidence, Causes, and Effects (Cambridge University Press, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1017/97811085558832.
2. Hayden, B. L’évolution des premiers vêtements de cuir. in Le travail du cuir de la Préhistoire à nos jours, 193–216 (eds. Audouin-Rouzeau, F. & Beyries, S., 2002), XXIIe rencontres internationales d’archéologie et d’histoired’Antibes. APDCA, Antibes.
3. Soffer, O. Recovering perishable technologies through use wear on tools: Preliminary evidence for Upper Paleolithic weaving and net making. Curr. Anthropol. 45, 407–413. https://doi.org/10.1086/420907 (2004).
4. Soffer, O., Adovasio, J. M. & Hyland, D. C. The, “Venus” figurines: Textiles, basketry, gender, and status in the Upper Paleolithic. Curr. Anthropol. 41, 511–537. https://doi.org/10.1086/317381 (2000).
5. Trinkaus, E., Buzhilova, A. P., Mednikova, M. B. & Dobrovolskaya, M. V. The People of Sunghir: Burials, Bodies, and Behavior in the Earlier Upper Paleolithic (Oxford University Press, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1017/S095977431600024X.
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献