10/16/2026
An awesome place for great archeological studies
👣 In 1938, University of Oregon archaeologist Luther Cressman dug into Fort Rock Cave in the high desert of central Oregon and found dozens of sandals buried beneath a layer of volcanic ash. They were still intact.
🌿 Woven mostly from sagebrush bark, the sandals were twined with a flat, tightly woven sole, a toe flap and a rope that wrapped around the ankle. Radiocarbon dating of the Fort Rock-style sandals puts them at roughly 9,200 to 10,500 years old, which makes them some of the oldest known footwear in the world. 🏜️
Someone made these by hand for walking across a landscape of ancient lakes and sagebrush, and the cave kept them safe through all the centuries since. The Oregon desert preserves more of the past than most people realize. 🔥
Something that humble lasting this long still feels remarkable. If you had to carry one everyday object forward for ten thousand years, what would it be?
