Calceology (from Latin ''calcei'' "

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

" and , ''-logiā'', " -logy") is the study of footwear, especially historical footwear whether as

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

, shoe

fashion history History of fashion design refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes an accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual de ...

, or otherwise. It is not yet formally recognized as a field of research. Calceology comprises the examination, registration, research and conservation of leather

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture ...

fragments. A wider definition includes the general study of the ancient footwear, its social and cultural history, technical aspects of pre-industrial shoemaking and associated leather trades, as well as reconstruction of archaeological footwear.

History of calceology

Among the early studies of footwear from European archaeological excavations,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

period footwear figures prominently, followed by

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

finds. Scientifically based research was first applied to Roman period finds and later for prehistoric and primitive footwear. With the development of the Goubitz notation system, the technical aspects of the recovered shoe fragments could be clearly presented, allowing researchers a coherent scientific base for

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

artifact documentation and correct interpretation. The interest in the history of ancient shoe

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

starts in the 17th century. The interpretation of historical socio-cultural attributes shows the importance of footwear in an archaeological context. The reference book for calceological studies covers the

chronological Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. ...

span from European prehistory (Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages), Roman period, the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Calceological studies outside of Europe address post-1600 sites on the east coast and bays of North America, and the

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n sites associated with the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian, Roman and

Coptic period The "Coptic Periodization, period" is an informal designation for Late Egypt (Roman province), Roman Egypt (3rd−4th centuries) and Byzantine Egypt (4th−7th centuries). This era was defined by the religious shifts in Culture of Egypt, Egyptian c ...

Methods

Preservation

Archaeological leather artifacts are preserved in stable environments, either in constantly humid, dry or frozen sites. Peat bogs also preserve leather and skin artifacts, but through a re-tanning process. Water-logged archaeological sites provide the necessary conditions for the preservation of vegetable tanned leather. As an organic material, water-logged archaeological leather needs to be stabilized by an appropriate conservation method. Dry conditions may be found in deserts and at high altitudes but also within the walls of medieval and later period buildings where leather shoes were concealed for superstitious reasons. Ice fields, tundra and glaciers can occasionally preserve ancient leather artifacts through constant freezing.

Examination of archaeological shoe finds

Water-logged finds generally consist of loose components since the threads used to

sew Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabri ...

the objects together does not survive humid burial. A tracking system should be used for keeping the loose components in order throughout the

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

processes. For wet archaeological leather, the first step is cleaning gently in water with a small soft brush. Conservation is preferably performed after the

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

ation phase. Documentation consists of drawings and written notes, photographic records are less useful since blackish leather does not show fine detail well. The first step for the Goubitz notation registration is an exact tracing of the fragment’s outline, usually positioned grain side down, flesh side up. Then symbols that indicate the type of stitches and seams are drawn in their appropriate place inside the outline. Sole constructions (the way in which the upper parts of the shoe is fixed to the sole), fastening method and ensembles of components from the same shoe as well as

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

type, leather thickness, folds and creases should be noted. If present, decoration type and technique used should also be recorded. Most archaeological recovered leather artifacts are parts of footwear and may be combined with

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, fibre or

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

parts. The technical details such as shoe construction technique, fastening method and fashion elements are used to establish a

typology Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...

for a specific find group. Shoe type indicates the kinds of footwear such as boots, shoes, pattens, overshoes, etcetera. Shoe style is the consistent combination of a fastening method, height, fashion and decoration elements on a significant quantity of recovered shoes. Style nomenclature based on find place's name has been partly established for Roman period finds. Due to changes in fashion and the fact that shoes have a limited life span due to use, footwear is a chronologically sensitive material excavation and represents a closely dated chronological source for archeology. The find context, stratigraphic placement and other

dating methods Chronological dating, or simply dating, is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology. This usually requires what is commonly known as a "d ...

contribute to establishing a specific chronology. Further research for comparative parallel examples among the existing archaeological archives (collections, publications, reports) helps to define a relative chronology for the shoe types and styles.

References

{{Authority control Archaeological artefact types Anthropology Shoes Fashion Historical footwear

History of calceology

Methods

Preservation

Examination of archaeological shoe finds

See also

References