Footprint

For other uses, see Footprint (disambiguation).

Footprints in the sand of a beach.

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.

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. 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.Trust me it was really hilarious

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.

Other footprint findings

• Laetoli – human footprints from the Pliocene era (3.7 million years ago) preserved in volcanic ash.
• Uskmouth – human footprints carbon dated to 4200BC preserved in clay.

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.
• 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.
• Golden calf – in Islam dust from the hoofprints of Haizum, the winged horse of archangel Gabriel, is used to animate the Golden calf.
• 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.
• 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").

Footprints in popular culture

Jack Nicholson's foot and handprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

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 can be seen in some films when not intended, becoming a goof. When filming scenes in snow, sand or other easily-markable ground it is easy for the signs of previous takes or of crew movement to make it through to the finished film, such as in Touching the Void and Casino. Alternatively, the wrong type of footprints might appear, such as bootprints instead of hoofprints as in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Footprints in Modern Dance

Footprints Dance Project Society of Alberta is a non-profit, charitable organization headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Headed by cutting edge Choreographer Neah (Iphegenia) Kalcounis, it provides dance and performing arts training to youth who otherwise wouldn't have a chance to dance.

A life-long student of philosophy, Kalcounis has been influened by Brian Webb of the Edmonton's Brian Webb Dance Company, and Elaine Bowman, founder of Dancers Studio West. The Canadian Encyclopedia has a well rounded entry outlining the method and history of modern dance as well as Webb's and Bowman's pioneering contributions to its unfolding on the western Canadian frontier.

Helping Calgary's kids discover the joys the arts bring is Footprints' mission statement. It's student productions take place at the City of Calgary Wildflower Arts Centre as well as the intimate Dancers Studio West Theatre II which tucked away in an alley under the Crowchild Bridges. In democratizing access to the arts, the organization is engaged with families whose children would otherwise not have exposure to the fine and performing arts. The dance company also has a dance artist in education program in special needs classroms within Calgary Catholic and public schools. In recent years, it has worked with children and youth from the former Yugoslavia, China and Colombia. Since 2004 it has been delivering dance programing to Calgary's Sudanese refugee population.

In addition to serving youth with disabilities and those whose families hail from all corners of the globe, Footprints produces original modern dance works created by Kalcounis and her corps of professional dancers Annalisa Bentzen, Jen Jaspar and Hillary Maxwell. Given her Hellenic heritage, the grounding in dance and her study of philosophy, Kalcounis' works include Dressing Core and Memvrani. In 2006-07 she has been collaborating with Sandi Greene author of the celebrated Seeing Evangeline. The first work to come out of this collaboration titled Felix was presented at the 2007 Alberta Dance Explosions Festival of New Choreography.

Leah Weber, Maya Lewandowski, Yholima Vargas, Edgar Gilbert-Reyes, Kaleb Tekeste and Caroline Fraser have been on the Footprints faculty. Both students and faculty continue to trace out and leave their footprints on Calgary's vibrant and evolving urban dance platform.

See also

• Petrosomatoglyph

• Footprints and Forensics