Aching feet? Early humans figured out solution Scientist says some sort of arch support goes back 26,000 years The first supportive footwear was probably modest, but it definitely predates the Nike Empire. Erik Trinkaus at Washington University in St. Louis says the first shoes designed to do more than insulate and cushion were worn between 26,000 and 30,000 years ago in Eurasia. He has no old shoes to prove the claim. They wouldn't have survived that long. Instead, Trinkaus studied anatomical evidence in early modern humans and found a reduction in the strength of the smaller toes in folks of...