Prehistoric 'Shoes' Better Than Modern Hiking Boots (Iceman/Otzi)

Ananova ^ | 6-20-2003

[blam]

Prehistoric 'shoes' better than modern hiking boots

Prehistoric 'shoes' made out of bearskin and hay are better for mountain walks than modern hiking boots, claims an expert.

Shoe specialist Petr Hlavacek has been studying the shoes found on the feet of a prehistoric iceman whose mummified body was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991.

Mr Hlavacek, who reconstructed a pair of the shoes, said they kept the foot at an optimal temperature, allowed sweat to evaporate and dried quickly if they got wet.

The footwear engineer's version went on display this week at the Leather Museum in Offenbach.

Christian Rathke, the museum chief, said the shoe was the "most interesting and best tested" reconstruction yet.

The discovery of the iceman, a Copper Age hunter who was killed on a mountain trek, has triggered a wave of new science, with studies of both his physical health and all the equipment he wore and carried.

Rathke said the shoes were far from waterproof, but if the iceman stepped in a puddle he would only be cold for a few seconds and the shoes would dry quickly as he walked.

"This shoe is optimal for places where it's damp and cold," he said. "It would not be suitable for the savannah or desert."

The sole was of thin bearskin, padded on the inside with hay as protection against the cold. Hlavacek's reconstruction is like a slipper, with no leather upper behind the heel, just a net.

Story filed: 10:30 Friday 20th June 2003

[blam]

The copper axe found with Otzi/Iceman, pushed the copper age back in time by 1,000 years.

[cake_crumb]

"Mr Hlavacek, who reconstructed a pair of the shoes..."

Dead bear and murdered grass. What will B&G say?

[EggsAckley]

I can't help but wonder why it took him 12 years to come up with this. Public funding?

Regardless, it IS a fascinating story.

[blam]

"I can't help but wonder why it took him 12 years to come up with this. "

I've read that there has been very tight control of who/what/where relating to this guy.

[jordan8]

This is hardly news. "Finnesko" or reindeer (caribou) boots were used well into the twentieth century by arctic explorers. They are made of the head or leg skin of a stag and are worn with several wool socks with a special type of grass, sennegrass, stuffed in for insulation. Shackleton says the best type are made from the legs. I doubt if they are better than modern arctic boots, though.

[Ditter]

Good? Maybe, but better? He never had a pair of electric socks.

[blam]

"Good? Maybe, but better? He never had a pair of electric socks."

LOL. Have you ever tried 'hiking' in them?

[Ditter]

LOL No, most of my hunting has consisted of sitting in a tree & freezing nearly to death while waiting for game to happen by.

[liberalnot]

i would be very interested in seeing these shoes, or a commercial development.

i hike. and, i get blisters. hot days, down hills.

then atheletes told me, get cool max socks.

so, i got cool max socks. and i got more blisters.

[blam]

If you search through this site, I expect you will find a picture of the shoes. Click here

[liberalnot]

thanks.

[hattend]

Sorry, I'll keep my New Balance hikers. Thanks anyway, professor.

[John Beresford Tipton]

I've love my prehistoric Caveman Lawyer Wingtips.

[geopyg]

I consulted at a mine at 14,000 ft in Indonesia for awhile. They would hire the locals to work there. It took a lot to get them to wear the steel-toed rubber boots as they were used to going barefoot all the time. On one of the rocky trails that goes over the pass (16,000 ft) to some villages on the other side was a pile of boots that they threw away as soon as they were off the mine property. They preferred their bare feet.

[SunkenCiv]

A Blast from the Past.

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[Sam Cree]

Shoes with little or no arch support...maybe it's a good thing.

[Kenny Bunk]

Well, Oetzi wouldn't be the first guy who went to Italy to buy shoes. And if he left one of those trendy boutiques without paying, that explains the arrow in the back. It's all starting to fit together now.