Footprint

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For other uses, see Footprint (disambiguation).

A human footprint on the Moon.

Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking. Hoofprints and
pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is
the specific term for prints made by shoes. 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 and legend.
Others have provided evidence of prehistoric life and behaviours.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Footprints in detective work

• 2 Ancient footprints
o 2.1 Other footprint findings
• 3 Footprints in myth and legend
• 4 Footprints in popular culture
• 5 References

• 6 See also
 [edit] 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 the sole design and the wear that it has received – this can
help to identify suspects.[1] Photographs or castings 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.[2][3]

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.[citation needed]

[edit] Ancient footprints

A reproduction of dinosaur footprints.

Footprints have been preserved as fossils and provide evidence of prehistoric life. Known as
"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 species known only by such evidence are known
as ichnospecies. The Grallator is one example of a genus that has left no fossils other than
ichnites.

The finding of footprints in the limestone beds of the Paluxy River near Glen Rose, Texas show
what some people have interpreted as human footprints alongside those of dinosaurs. This
sparked the man track controversy, believed by some Creationists to show that humans and
dinosaurs coexisted.[4][5]

[edit] Other footprint findings

 • Siwa Oasis– World's oldest footprint discovered over 3 million years old[6]
• Laetoli – human footprints from the Pliocene era (3.7 million years ago) preserved in
volcanic ash.[7]
• Acahualinca – 6,000 year old human footprints fossilized in volcanic ash and mud in
Nicaragua.
• Uskmouth – human footprints carbon dated to 4200BC preserved in clay.[8]

[edit] Footprints in myth and legend

One legend states that these impressions, kept in the Church 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.

Examples of footprints in myth and legend include:

• Buddha footprint – an aniconic and symbolic representation of the Buddha.[9]

• 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.[10]
• Golden calf – in Islam dust from the hoofprints of Haizum, the winged horse of archangel
Gabriel, is used to animate the Golden calf.[11]
• Moso's Footprint – a 1m by 3m rock enclosure in Samoa made when the giant 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 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.
• The reputed print of the right foot of Jesus is preseved in the Mosque of the 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").
Jack Nicholson's foot and handprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

[edit] 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 in concrete, may be kept in a collection
such as that outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Footprints and Forensics

Careful examination of foot impressions can provide important evidences and clues in a
crime scene investigation. The present study is conducted on a cross-sectional sample of
1040 adult male Gujjars inhabiting the sub-Himalayan region of North India. The study
describes the utility of individualizing characteristics of footprints in forensic
examinations. Various features of the toes, humps in the toe line, phalange marks, flatfoot
condition, pits, cracks, corns, etc., were studied. Frequency of some of these characters
has also been recorded. The frequency of the tibialis-type foot is the highest, followed by
fibularis-type, then intermediate-type and midularis-type is found to be least frequent
among the sample. Three humps have been found most often in footprints, followed by
two humps, four humps, and then five humps and one hump are found to be least
frequent. Flatfoot condition is found to be present in 1.54% of the sample population and
the trait also shows bilateral variation. Phalange marks, crease marks, pits, deformity,
etc., are also demonstrated with suitable examples in the present population. These
characteristic features can provide useful clues to establish personal identity whenever
complete or partial footprints are recovered at the crime scene and can help in including
or excluding the possible presence of individual at the scene of crime.