Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

paw A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...

s rather than

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by

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 ...

s. They may either be indentations in the ground or something placed onto the surface that was stuck to the bottom of the foot. A "

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

" is a set of footprints in soft earth left by a life-form; animal tracks are the footprints, hoofprints, or pawprints of an animal. Barefoot_painted_Footprint

Footprints can be followed when

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...

during a

hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...

or can provide evidence of activities. Some footprints remain unexplained, with several famous stories from

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

. Others have provided evidence of prehistoric life and behaviours.

Footprints in detective work

The print left behind at a

crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcemen ...

can give vital evidence to the perpetrator of the crime. Shoes have many different prints based on the Sole (shoe), sole design and the wear that it has received – this can help to identify suspects. Photographs or castings of footprints can be taken to preserve the finding. Forensic footwear evidence, Analysis of footprints and shoeprints is a specialist part of forensics, forensic science. Some detective work is relatively immediate, with criminals being tracked by the footprints they left in the snow leading from the crime scene to their home or hiding place. This is usually reported as a humorous story in news publications. Footprints can also allow the detective to find the approximate height from, footprint and shoeprint. The Foot tends to be approximately 15% of the person's average height. Individualistic characteristics of the footprints like numerous creases, flatfoot character, horizontal and vertical ridges, corns, deformities etc. can help the forensic scientist in cases pertaining to criminal identification. In some forensic cases, the need may also arise to estimate body weight from the size of the footprints. Footprints have been shown to have determine the height and the sex of the individual.

Ridge patterns

Friction ridge skin present on the soles of the feet and toes (plantar surfaces) is as unique in its ridge detail as are the fingers and palms (palmar surfaces). When recovered at crime scenes or on items of evidence, sole and toe impressions can be used in the same manner as finger and palm prints to effect identifications. Footprint (toe and sole friction ridge skin) evidence has been admitted in courts in the United States since 1934. The footprints of infants, along with the thumb or index finger prints of mothers, are still commonly recorded in hospitals to assist in verifying the identity of infants. Often, the only identifiable ridge detail that can be seen on a baby's foot is from the large toe or adjacent to the large toe. It is not uncommon for military records of flight personnel to include bare foot inked impressions. Friction ridge skin protected inside flight boots tends to survive the trauma of a plane crash (and accompanying fire) better than fingers. Even though the US Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), as of 2010, stored refrigerated DNA samples from all active duty and reserve personnel, almost all casualty identifications are effected using fingerprints from military ID card records (live scan fingerprints are recorded at the time such cards are issued). When friction ridge skin is not available from military personnel's remains, DNA and dental records are used to confirm identity.

Ancient footprints

Footprints have been preserved as fossils and provide evidence of prehistoric life. Known as "Fossil track, ichnites", these trace fossils can give clues to the behaviour of specific species of dinosaur. The study of such fossils is known as ichnology and the footprints may be given scientific names (ichnotaxon, ichnospecies). ''Grallator'' is one example of an ichnogenus based on ichnites. Strictly speaking, an ichnospecies is the name of the trace fossil, not of the animal that made it. For example, an international team's discovery of a set of 1.5 million-year-old human ancestor footprints in Ileret, Kenya has shown the earliest direct evidence of a modern human style of upright walking. The team believe that the prints were probably formed by the species Homo erectus. Further, in September 2021, scientists reported the discovery of human footprints in the state of New Mexico that are understood to be 23,000 years old, around the time of the last Ice age, Ice Age.

Other footprint findings

*Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways, the only known palaeontological record of a dinosaur stampede * Trachilos footprints – hominin-like footprints from the Miocene era (5.7 million years ago) discovered in Crete. *Laetoli – human footprints from the Pliocene era (3.7 million years ago) preserved in volcanic ash *Siwa Oasis in Egypt – hominid footprint over 3 million years old *Koobi Fora – 1.5 million-year-old hominini, hominin footprints in Kenya showing essentially modern bipedalism, bipedal locomotion *The Ciampate del Diavolo in Italy are a series of hominid footprints in solidified ash from the eruption of a volcano 345,000 years ago *Ancient footprints of Acahualinca, Acahualinca – 2,100-year-old human footprints fossilized in volcanic ash and mud in Nicaragua *Uskmouth – human footprints carbon dating, carbon dated to 4200 BC preserved in clay *Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Footprint impressions found in the Ka’u Desert ash within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park *Footprints of Eve – the oldest known footprints of an anatomically modern human *1790 Footprints – a set of footprints on the island of Hawaii *Happisburgh footprints – footprints of about five adult and children members of ''Homo antecessor'' dating to more than 800,000 years before present, found at Happisburgh in England * Pilauco Bajo, Pilauco footprint, the oldest footprint found in the Americas * Paluxy River#Paluxy trackways, Paluxy dinosaur trackways and footprints in he Paluxy riverbed.

Footprints in myth and legend

The appearance of footprints, or marks interpreted as footprints, have led to numerous myths and legends. Some locations use such imprints as tourist attractions. Détailed article Petrosomatoglyph Examples of footprints in myth and legend include: *Buddha footprint – an aniconic and symbolic representation of the Gautama Buddha, Buddha. *The Devil's Footprints – an unexplained series of hoof-like marks that appeared in Devon, England on 8 February 1855 after a light snowfall during the night. *Golden calf – in Islam dust from the hoofprints of Haizum, the winged horse of archangel Gabriel, is used to animate the Golden calf. *Moso's Footprint – a 1m by 3m rock enclosure in Samoa made when the giant (mythology), giant Mosuo, Moso stepped over to Samoa from Fiji, and the other footprint can be found on Viti Levu, the largest island of Fiji. *Footprints of Bigfoot, a cryptozoology, cryptozoological animal, are said to give proof to its existence. *Sri Pada, or ''Adam's Peak'', a mountain in Sri Lanka, has a large footprint-shaped impression in the rock at its summit, said by various religious adherents to be that of the Buddha, Shiva or Adam (Bible), Adam. *The reputed print of the right foot of Jesus is preserved in the Mosque of the Ascension of Jesus, Ascension in Jerusalem. *A set of Jesus's footprints, according to legend, are preserved at the Church of Domine Quo Vadis outside of Rome. *A mark in stone of the paving of the Munich Frauenkirche is known as the ''Teufelstritt'' ("Devil's Footstep").

Footprints in popular culture

The imagery of footprints has been used in many areas of popular culture. Several poems and songs have been written about them, with the Christian poem ''Footprints (poem), Footprints'' being one of the best known. Prints or impressions of a child's feet can be kept as a memento by parents.Check Footprints http://www.baby-art.com/en/products/categories/prints.aspx Usually this is done using paint. The impressions of celebrity's feet, usually in concrete, may be kept in a collection such as that outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

References

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External links

*{{Commons and category-inline, Footprint, Footprints Foot Forensic evidence