The History of Socks

 

Socks are probably the oldest type of clothing that is still in use today in improved form. Long before the concept of wearing cloths, socks have been in use since the Store Ages. Going through the Stone Ages, cca. 500 BC, the ‘socks’ that our ancestors wore looked nothing like what we have today. Clues left behind of that age, from the cave paintings and archaeological remains, one finds that they seem like these socks were made from animal skins and pelts tied around the ankle. In the Greek poet Hesiod writings, in the 8^th Century BC mention of socks are there. In his poem, “Works and Days”, Hesiod mentions, ‘piloi’, a type of sock made from matted animal hair worn under sandals. Romans, later on wrap their feet in strips of leather or woven fabric. Around the 2^nd century AD, they started sewing the pieces of fabric together and making fitted socks and were called ‘udones’. They are the first socks to resemble what we are wearing these days.

The first woollen socks to be discovered were unearthed at Vindolanda in Northumbria and they date back to the 2nd century AD. They are a child-sized pair made from woven wool cloth meant to protect against the rough British weather. Roman tablets found at the site even include the instruction to “send more socks”.

Also around that time, the first knit socks were being made in Ancient Egypt. The earliest known surviving pair of knitted socks, made with a technique called naalbinding, dates from 300 – 500 AD and was found at Oxyrhynchus on the Nile in Egypt. The socks feature split toes and are designed to be worn with sandals.

By the 5th century AD, holy people of Europe would wear socks called ‘puttees’ which symbolized purity.

 

A child’s woollen sock dating back to the 2nd century AD found at Vindolanda

The History of Shoes

The history, changes, tendencies, material used in footwear can be divided into the main world history eras:

Prehistory (2,5 million BC – 1250 BC)

Antiquity (1250 BC – 476)
The Middle Ages (476 – 1453)
Early Modern Times (1453 – 1918)
Modern Times (1918 - these days).

1991 is an important date in the history of footwear because this is the year when, at the border of Austria and Italy, archaeologists found a naturally mummified human named Oetzi from the Stone Age who died about 3300 years before our era. This Alpine traveller was wearing shoes made from deerskin with a sole made from bearskin and stuffed with hay.

During different eras there were different views of the world, different understandings of culture and art, different economic and political factors which played an important role in the materials used, shapes and styles of the footwear. The discovery and capture of new lands, new technologies and different understandings of the world changed the style, fashion  and material of footwear. Traditionally, shoes have been made from leather, wood or canvas, but in the 2010s, they are increasingly made from rubber, plastics, and other petro-chemical derived materials. Though the human foot is adapted to varied terrain and climate conditions, it is still vulnerable to environmental hazards such as sharp rocks and temperature extremes, which the people adopt accordingly.