CNN –
The oldest shoes ever discovered in Europe have been identified, according to a new analysis published this week in the journal Science Advances.
The 22 woven sandals date back to 6,000 years ago, radiocarbon analysis revealed in the study conducted by researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Alcalá University in Spain.
The ancient footwear, along with Mesolithic baskets and other tools, were first discovered in 1857 when a cave in southern Spain was looted by miners. However, when the artifacts were first dated in the 1970s, they were found to be about 1,000 years younger than this most recent analysis suggested.
The very dry conditions in the cave were ideal for storing perishable materials, the researchers said, allowing the preservation of a prehistoric burial site with partially mummified corpses accompanied by baskets, wooden tools, sandals and other goods.
Martínez-Sevilla et al.,Sci. Adv
Baskets were also found in the cave.
The objects are “the oldest and best-preserved plant fiber materials known to date in southern Europe,” María Herrero Otal, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement, adding that they demonstrate “the ability of prehistoric communities to dominate.” that kind of craftsmanship.”
When Spanish archaeologist Manuel de Góngora y Martínez visited the cave in 1867, 10 years after the looting, he collected the remaining artifacts, including the sandals, and donated them to museums in Madrid and Granada, where they were examined by researchers, according to the study added.
The sandals were made from grasses and other materials including leather, basswood and ramie, a type of natural fiber.
Based on Góngora’s descriptions, the study assumes that the bodies were buried with the sandals.
Some sandals showed clear signs of wear, while others appeared to have never been worn, suggesting that some people had clothing made specifically for their funeral.
Researchers also examined several baskets and other wooden artifacts in the collection. These objects “open groundbreaking perspectives on the complexity of early to middle Holocene populations in Europe,” they said, adding that most knowledge about past societies comes from long-lasting artifacts rather than ephemeral artifacts such as baskets. The Holocene is the current geological epoch that began 11,700 years ago.
Both the baskets and sandals suggest that the makers had extensive knowledge of plant resources in the local environment as well as a high level of expertise, the researchers noted.
“The quality and technological complexity of basket weaving makes us question the simplistic assumptions about human communities before the arrival of agriculture in southern Europe,” Francisco Martínez Sevilla, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement.
The study also found that the objects were deposited at the site at two very different times in the early and middle Holocene. The first phase was related to early Holocene hunter-gatherer populations, and the second phase was related to middle Holocene farmers, researchers said.