This is of course, entirely due to the loose and flexible definition of what a fossil is, which in its most basic form, is “The preserved remains of an organism, which is older than at least 10,000 years old.” 

These sandals, found perfectly preserved in a cave, located in Fort Rock, Oregon, have been carbon dated to be from approximately 10,400 to 9,100 years ago, leaving the very plausible possibility that the Sagebrush from which they were constructed from was a living organism, over 10,000 years ago. 

Of course, when most people think of fossils, they might imagine the petrified remnants of the bone from a dinosaur that is many millions of years old, which has been completely entombed in rock, with the organic material becoming completely and gradually replaced by mineral, over many millennia. 
However, if the insects and leaves that have been found trapped in amber are to be considered fossils, with their organic material remaining relatively unchanged since the moment they became stuck in the sap from a tree, with their bodies essentially becoming mummified, then these sandals, more specifically the material that they’re made from, could absolutely fit the definition. 

For context, The second oldest footwear ever discovered dates to only around 5,500 years ago, barely half the age of the sandals pictured above.
Possibly even more mind blowing is the fact that the Woolly Mammoth didn’t completely become extinct until roughly 4,000 years ago, meaning that we are currently living closer to the existence of Mammoths, than to the people that made, and wore these shoes! 

Even more astonishing is the miraculous process from which they were able to be preserved, beginning with their owners leaving them in the innermost recesses of a warm, dry cave. Of course, while a good start to their preservation, this by itself would not be enough to completely keep the vulnerable organic material separate from the outside air, which contained the bacteria and fungi known to cause rot and decay, and it was by sheer luck that not long after their placement in the cave, a nearby volcano erupted, producing numerous layers of ash, that made its way into the cave, and completely covered the sandals, allowing for the near perfect conditions that led to their preservation, and existence today. 


The material that these sandals are made from could be considered Fossilized.