A shoe so old it’s 5,500 years out of fashion

A shoe so old it’s 5,500 years out of fashion
Chris Smyth

The Times
June 10, 2010

The world’s oldest shoe may have suffered the fate of cutting-edge
design down the ages – falling out of fashion.

A 5,500-year-old soft-soled plain leather moccasin with laces found in
a cave in Armenia is from a previously unknown culture that flourished
with the first farmers. It is 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid
of Giza. The right shoe – the left has not been discovered – is in
good condition, with no sign of why it was discarded.

Ron Pinhasi, of University College Cork, believes that it may simply
have gone out of style. `In societies that are no longer egalitarian
you have the wealthier showing they can afford things,’ he said.

The shoe was preserved by the cool, dry cave and a layer of sheep dung
that sealed it from the air. It was stuffed with grass, probably to
maintain its shape, researchers say in the Public Library of Science
One.

From: A. Papazian