Main menu

A fossil ‘footprint’ from the Gobi Desert

The photograph from Smena
showing the supposed footprint

According to a story published in the Soviet newspaper Smena (1961, number 8), a group of Chinese and Soviet palaeontologists, directed by Dr Chow Ming Chen, found the impression of what resembled a ribbed sole in sandstone in 1959. The stratum was dated to two million years old. The size of the ‘footprint’ corresponds to European size 43 and it was said that grooves running the length of the ‘sole’ could be distinguished and there were even traces of the stitching.

This type of claim is very difficult to deal with, as the source for the story is a daily (and somewhat sensationalist) newspaper, not a scientific publication. The only evidence that can now be evaluated is the poor quality photograph published by Smena and subsequently reproduced by a number of fringe authors. It is scarcely impressive evidence: it does not really resemble the print of a shoe and its size can be guessed by comparison with the hand that is holding it to be no more than 200 mm and probably rather less. This instantly enables us to dismiss the claim that it belonged to a size 43 shoe! Moreover, the shape is hardly shoe-like and does not live up to the enthusiastic descriptions of stitching.

This page was last updated on 17 August 2007
Written by Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews