Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running.Hoofprints andpawprints are those left by animals withhooves orpaws rather thanfeet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made byshoes. 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 a set of footprints in soft earth left by a life-form;animal tracks are the footprints, hoofprints, or pawprints of ananimal.
Painted footprints from a child on a piece of paper
Footprints can be followed whentracking during ahunt or can provide evidence of activities. Some footprints remain unexplained, with several famous stories frommythology andlegend. Others have provided evidence of prehistoric life and behaviours.
The print left behind at acrime scene can give vital evidence to the perpetrator of the crime. Shoes have many different prints based on thesole design and the wear that it has received – this can help to identify suspects.[1] Photographs orcastings of footprints can be taken to preserve the finding.Analysis of footprints and shoeprints is a specialist part offorensic 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.[2][3]
Footprints can also allow the detective to find the approximate height from,[4] footprint and shoeprint. The Foot tends to be approximately 15% of the person's average height.[5][6] 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.[5] In some forensic cases, the need may also arise to estimate body weight from the size of the footprints.[7]
Footprints have been shown to have determined the height and the sex of the individual.
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.[8]
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 USArmed 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 anddental records are used to confirm identity.
Footprints have been preserved asfossils and provide evidence of prehistoric life. Known as "ichnites", thesetrace fossils can give clues to the behaviour of specific species ofdinosaur. The study of such fossils is known asichnology and the footprints may be given scientific names (ichnospecies).Grallator is one example of anichnogenus based on ichnites. Strictly speaking, an ichnospecies is the name of the trace fossil, not of the animal that made it.
An international team's discovery of a set of 1.5 million-year-old human ancestor footprints in Ileret,Kenya provides the earliest direct evidence of a modern human style of upright walking. The team believe that the prints were probably formed by the speciesHomo erectus.[9]
Footprints suggesting the first making of shoes or sandals due to having crisp edges, no signs of toes found and three small divots where leather tying laces/straps would have been attached have been inSouth Africa dating back to between 73,000 and 136,000 PB.[10]
Further, in September 2021, scientists reported the discovery of human footprints in the state ofNew Mexico that are understood to be 23,000 years old, around the time of the lastIce Age.[11] Later studies, reported in October 2023, confirmed that the age of the human footprints to be "up to 23,000 years old".[12][13]
One legend states that these impressions, kept in theChurch of Domine Quo Vadis, are the footprints of Jesus.
The appearance of footprints, or marks interpreted as footprints, have led to numerous myths and legends. Some locations use such imprints as tourist attractions.
The Devil's Footprints – an unexplained series of hoof-like marks that appeared inDevon,England on 8 February 1855 after a light snowfall during the night.[25]
Moso's Footprint – a 1m by 3m rock enclosure inSamoa made when thegiantMoso stepped over to Samoa fromFiji, and the other footprint can be found onViti Levu, the largest island of Fiji.
Sri Pada, orAdam'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 orAdam.
The reputed print of the right foot ofJesus is preserved in the Mosque of theAscension inJerusalem.
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 poemFootprints being one of the best known.
Prints or impressions of a child's feet can be kept as a memento by parents.[27] Usually this is done using paint. The impressions ofcelebrity's feet, usually inconcrete, may be kept in a collection such as that outsideGrauman's Chinese Theatre.
^Krishan K, Sharma A (August 2007). "Estimation of stature from dimensions of hands and feet in a North Indian population".J Forensic Leg Med.14 (6):327–32.doi:10.1016/j.jcfm.2006.10.008.PMID17239650.
^abKrishan K (March 2008). "Estimation of stature from footprint and foot outline dimensions in Gujjars of North India".Forensic Sci. Int.175 (2–3):93–101.doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2007.05.014.PMID17590549.
^Helm, Charles W.; Lockley, Martin G.; Cawthra, Hayley C.; De Vynck, Jan C.; Dixon, Mark G.; Rust, Renée; Stear, Willo; Van Tonder, Monique; Zipfel, Bernhard (2023). "Possible shod-hominin tracks on South Africa's Cape coast".Ichnos.30 (2):79–97.Bibcode:2023Ichno..30...79H.doi:10.1080/10420940.2023.2249585.ISSN1042-0940.
Krishan K (July 2007). "Individualizing characteristics of footprints in Gujjars of North India—forensic aspects".Forensic Sci. Int.169 (2–3):137–44.doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.08.006.PMID16965880.
.jpg)
.JPG)
