The earliest shoes that have been found, rope sandals, date to about 10,000 BC. Most footwear erodes over time, so possible earlier examples have disintegrated.

A new study that examined toe bones, has found skeletal evidence showing that people started wearing shoes much earlier — about 40,000 years ago.

When you walk barefoot, you use your middle toes a lot to push off. When you wear shoes, you push off with your big toes instead. The difference in force on your toes is reflected in the toe bones. A 40,000 year old skeleton found in a cave in China, shows signs that person was used to being shod.

It’s an interesting article, and talks about comparing different cultures from Neanderthals to modern Puebloans and Inuits. But the part that grabbed my attention?

They also analyzed a recently found 27,500-year-old Russian skeleton… The Russian skeleton was also found with other individuals who had an abundance of ivory beads around their ankles and feet, suggesting these individuals likely wore some fairly flashy shoes.”

They don’t specify, but my bet is the flashy shoe wearers were women.

Discovery News: Earliest shoe-wearers revealed by toe bones