Human footprints

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different drying air velocities, with manual and automatic control, on the essential oil and citral content extracted from lemon grass leaves. The drying tests were carried out using a fixed-bed dryer. The treatments were arranged in completely randomized design with a factorial 3x2: three drying air velocity (0.8 m s-1 , 1.3 m s-1 and 1.8 m s-1) and two control system of air velocity (automatic and manual), with three repetitions. The essential oil contents, after drying, were compared with the values obtained from the fresh plant (control). The essential oil extraction was performed by hydrodistillation. The identification and quantification of citral was made by gas chromatography. From the results obtained, it could be concluded that the drying air velocities of 0.8 m s-1 and 1.3 m s-1 with manual control provided the best results for the extraction of essential oil in lemon grass leaves. The different drying air velocities and control system (manual and automatic) did not influence the chemical composition of the essential oils.

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The ichnological record of human traces from Italy is rich and quite diversified. In recent years, the development and dissemination of various methodologies and technological facilities has implemented the re-analysis of this record, enabling to reach different, sometimes deeper, interpretations favoured by the integration of external data, both geological and palaeontological. The oldest occurrence of the human ichnological record from Italy is represented by the Middle Pleistocene ‘Devil’s Trails’ ichnosite in the “Foresta” area (Roccamonfina volcano, southern Italy), depicting human trackmakers trampling a pyroclastic flow deposit while descending a slope about 349 ka. Most of the record is Holocene in age and is constituted by the Upper Palaeolithic Grotta della Basura site (Toirano, northern Italy, about 14 ky), the protohistoric sites of Afragola, Nola and Palma, the area of Pompei and the site of Aosta. The record is enriched by the ichnological evidences preserved in milita...

In 2017, a feature resembling a shod human footprint was excavated in buried loess directly associated with a housepit feature at the Swan Point archaeological site in central Alaska (~1850 calBP). Recovery of ancient footprints is rare as they are generally destroyed by taphonomic processes. The purpose of this study was to test if the feature’s morphometrics fell within the mean biometrics of a shod human footprint. 3D models of the impression were created in field using photogrammetric modeling and plaster casting. In the laboratory, the cast was modeled using a NextEngine desktop laser scanner, and the recovered feature was photographed in a controlled setting. The models produced by all three techniques were compared and found to be consistent. The primary literature on footprints focuses on barefoot patterns and shod prints with modern foot wear. This print appears to have been made by a foot shod in a moccasin. To test this, we photomodeled a worn-through historic moccasin. The shape and wear pattern of the moccasin matched the print and the depression pattern. A classic human foot landmark analysis suggests that the midfoot to heel was in the range of a foot this size. Recent research in the biomedical field has found that it is possible to reconstruct foot pressure using 3D models. We used differences in depth to locate the midfoot, lateral foot, and heel contact areas. Results suggest that the feature falls within the expected mean parameters of a shod prehistoric human footprint, the first described from Alaska.

In 2017, a feature resembling a shod human footprint was excavated in buried loess directly associated with a housepit feature at the Swan Point archaeological site in central Alaska (~1850 calBP). Recovery of ancient footprints is rare as they are generally destroyed by taphonomic processes. The purpose of this study was to test if the feature’s morphometrics fell within the mean biometrics of a shod human footprint. 3D models of the impression were created in field using photogrammetric modeling and plaster casting. In the laboratory, the cast was modeled using a NextEngine desktop laser scanner, and the recovered feature was photographed in a controlled setting. The models produced by all three techniques were compared and found to be consistent. The primary literature on footprints focuses on barefoot patterns and shod prints with modern foot wear. This print appears to have been made by a foot shod in a moccasin. To test this, we photomodeled a worn-through historic moccasin. The shape and wear pattern of the moccasin matched the print and the depression pattern. A classic human foot landmark analysis suggests that the midfoot to heel was in the range of a foot this size. Recent research in the biomedical field has found that it is possible to reconstruct foot pressure using 3D models. We used differences in depth to locate the midfoot, lateral foot, and heel contact areas. Results suggest that the feature falls within the expected mean parameters of a shod prehistoric human footprint, the first described from Alaska.