3 ms·

Does anyone know any details about how the archaeologist derived foot speed from ancient fossilized footprints? I've come across this before but took it with a

• uofo 6y ago
  I’d imagine spacing of prints, how the foot engaged with the ground, depth of print, etc...
• User23 6y ago
  I assume it’s mainly first year calculus since the defining characteristic of running is that it’s repeated launching. Since the downward vector of gravity is a constant I’d imagine a foot to same foot distance is sufficient to solve for speed. And this is just my first thought as a semi-educated layman. I have no doubt the experts who study these things think of and solve for many other factors. I may not be able to reproduce their work but I can judge it plausible.
  • hanniabu 6y ago
    A large stride doesn't equal a faster speed. A large stride is beneficial to a mid-distance pace like 800m or mile, but for sprints you'd want faster turnover with shorter more powerful strides.
  • n4r9 6y ago
    > I’d imagine a foot to same foot distance is sufficient to solve for speed. There surely must be an assumption about leg length, and that the person wasn't just playing some hop-scotch style game with long, slow, bounding strides. I think I'd need quite strong evidence to convince me that ancient humans were as fast as someone with modern nutrition and training. Especially as (unless I'm mistaken) there's no indication that people in hunter gatherer lifestyles today are particularly fast.