- Footprint
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or
paw s rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made byshoe 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 " is set of footprints in soft earth left by a life-form;animal tracks are the footprints, hoofprints, or pawprints of an animal.Footprints can be followed when tracking during a hunt or can provide evidence of activities.
Some footprints remain unexplained, with several famous stories from
mythology andlegend . Others have provided evidence of prehistoric life and behaviours.Footprints in detective work
The print left behind at a
crime scene can give vital evidence to the perpetrator of the crime. Shoes have different prints based on thesole design and the wear that it has received – this can help to identify suspects. [BBC News ,2 March 1998 . " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/61277.stm Footprints help to track down criminals] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .] Photographs orcasting s of footprints can be taken to preserve the finding. Analysis of footprints and shoeprints is a specialist part of 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. [
BBC News ,30 June 2005 . " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4637853.stm Vandal caught by his footprints] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .] [BBC News ,27 April 2006 . " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/4950614.stm Footprints in snow lead to court] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]Footprints can also allow the detective to find the approximate height by the size of the shoe. The shoe tends to be approximately 15% of the person's height.Fact|date=February 2008
Ancient footprints
Footprints have been preserved as
fossil s and provide evidence of prehistoric life. Known as "ichnite s", thesetrace fossil s can give clues to the behaviour of specific species ofdinosaur . The study of such fossils is known asichnology and species known only by such evidence are known as ichnospecies. The "Grallator " is one example of agenus that has left no fossils other than ichnites.The finding of footprints in the
limestone beds of thePaluxy River near Glen Rose,Texas show what some people have interpreted as human footprints alongside those of dinosaurs. This sparked theman track controversy , believed by some Creationists to show that humans and dinosaurs coexisted. [Morris, John. Institute for Creation Research. " [http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=81 The Pauluxy River Tracks] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .] [Kuban, Glen. " [http://paleo.cc/paluxy/paluxy.htm The Texas Dinosaur/"Man Track" Controversy"] . Accessed28 July 2006 .]Other footprint findings
*
Siwa Oasis – World's oldest footprint discovered over 3 million years old [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/20/egypt.footprint.reut/index.html CNN: Human footprint may be oldest ever found] ]
*Laetoli – human footprints from thePliocene era (3.7 million years ago) preserved involcanic ash . [Wong, Kate. Scientific American,1 August 2005 . " [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=0005C9B3-03AE-12D8-BDFD83414B7F0000 Footprints to Fill – Flat feet and doubts about makers of the Laetoli tracks] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]
*Acahualinca – 6,000 year old human footprints fossilized in volcanic ash and mud in Nicaragua.
*Uskmouth – human footprints carbon dated to 4200BC preserved inclay . [Gathering the Jewels. " [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item10/8643 Prehistoric footprints, Uskmouth, Glamorgan] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]
*Footprints of Eve – the oldest known footprints of an anatomically modern human. cite web|url= http://www.nationalgeographic.com/society/ngo/events/97/footprints/release.html|title= National Geographic press release 08/14/1997 "Footprints from Dawn of Modern Humans found"|accessdate= 2008-09-08]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.
Examples of footprints in myth and legend include:
*Buddha footprint – ananiconic and symbolic representation of the Buddha. [Japanese Buddhist Statuary,14 January 2005 . " [http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/footprints-bussokuseki.html Stone footprints of the Buddha] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]
*The Devil's Footprints – an unexplained series of hoof-like marks that appeared inDevon ,England on8 February 1855 after a light snowfall during the night. [MysteriousBritain.co.uk. " [http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/fortean/devils_foot.html The Devil's Footprints] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]
*Golden calf – inIslam dust from the hoofprints ofHaizum , the winged horse ofarchangel Gabriel , is used to animate the Golden calf. [" [http://www.novareinna.com/constellation/libraseason.html Libra the Scales] ". Accessed28 July 2006 .]
*Moso's Footprint – a 1m by 3m rock enclosure inSamoa made when the giant Moso stepped over to Samoa fromFiji , and the other footprint can be found onViti Levu , the largest island of Fiji.
*Footprints ofBigfoot , a cryptozoological animal, are said to give proof to its existence.
*Sri Pada , or "Adam's Peak", a mountain inSri 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.
*The reputed print of the right foot ofJesus is preseved in the Mosque of theAscension inJerusalem .
*A set ofJesus 's footprints, according to legend, are preserved at theChurch of Domine Quo Vadis outside ofRome .
*A mark in stone of the paving of theMunich 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 religious poem "Footprints" being one of the best known.
Prints or impressions of a child's feet can be kept as a memento by parents. Usually this is done using paint. The impressions of
celebrity 's feet, usually inconcrete , may be kept in a collection such as that outsideGrauman's Chinese Theatre .References
See also
*
Petrosomatoglyph
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16965880&query_hl=11&itool=pubmed_docsum Footprints and Forensics]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.