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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.
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• 6 See also
[edit] 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.[1] 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.[2][3]
Footprints can also allow the detective to find the approximate height by the size of the shoe. The
shoe tends to be approximately 15% of the person's height.[citation needed]
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.[4][5]
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.
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.
Careful examination of foot impressions can provide important evidences and clues in a
crime scene investigation. The present study is conducted on a cross-sectional sample of
1040 adult male Gujjars inhabiting the sub-Himalayan region of North India. The study
describes the utility of individualizing characteristics of footprints in forensic
examinations. Various features of the toes, humps in the toe line, phalange marks, flatfoot
condition, pits, cracks, corns, etc., were studied. Frequency of some of these characters
has also been recorded. The frequency of the tibialis-type foot is the highest, followed by
fibularis-type, then intermediate-type and midularis-type is found to be least frequent
among the sample. Three humps have been found most often in footprints, followed by
two humps, four humps, and then five humps and one hump are found to be least
frequent. Flatfoot condition is found to be present in 1.54% of the sample population and
the trait also shows bilateral variation. Phalange marks, crease marks, pits, deformity,
etc., are also demonstrated with suitable examples in the present population. These
characteristic features can provide useful clues to establish personal identity whenever
complete or partial footprints are recovered at the crime scene and can help in including
or excluding the possible presence of individual at the scene of crime.