What were shoe soles made from in previous ages?

Question

Today, nearly all commercial footwear has a sole made of either rubber or plastic with rubber-like qualities. It's a great material for the job, but it comes from a tree that's native to the Americas, and thus was unavailable to the Old World before Columbus. What did they make shoe and boot soles out of in earlier ages? Ideally, it would have to be something relatively tough, firm and resistant to wear, in contrast to the rest of the shoe which should ideally be relatively soft and flexible.

Answer 1

It varied depending on region and era. Most cultures seem to have developed sandals or some variation first, made either with a leather sole held on by leather straps or wood with similar straps. Early shoes were often a single piece of leather folded and shaped to fit the foot and held together with leather straps. Depending on the indigenous animals, the leather came from creatures like cows or bison.

Here's an interesting tidbit: when the mummies of Urumchi were found on the northern China border, they brought a multitude of mysteries with them. They were very tall, comfortably over 6 feet (well, the father was, and the mother was quite tall. I don't remember if the child was tall for its age). They were blond, blue-eyed, and obviously wealthy. The local Chinese citizens had buried them with great shows of respect, including their tartan (!) clothing and leather boots stuffed with felt. You make felt by hammering wool, which entangles the fibers and makes it nearly waterproof. That felt lining would have been warm and dry during the long travels of this family with their ox-drawn cart.