15000 year old native American Cast Fossil Footprint

[martinr78]

From my farmstead in Hartsville PA, located near Neshaminy and Little Neshaminy Creeks, site of ancient Indian camping grounds, I found what looks to me to be a Native American sandaled foot cast fossil. It looks similar to the photos from several years ago of the 5000 year old leather shoe discovered in Armenia. Funny enough, that shoe measures 18 cm in length, as does my 'rock'. Anyone know where I can get this dated? I'd bet that it's 15000 years old, the same time that New York was under a mile of glacier (60 miles away).

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[smokeythecat]

That looks like Triassic sandstone, note the red color. It's from the age of the dinosaurs. NJ and PA had numerous active volcanoes and this stuff was laid down at that time.

 

[martinr78]

Thanks for your comment. I'm a realist. However, I have also read that sandstone can be just a few thousand years old. I know there are cast fossils of bugs, etc. And obvious million year old footprints still visible. No one seems to think that a deep footprint could ever for any reason whatsoever, freeze over (glacier 60 miles away, maybe closer), a thousand years later fill with 'something else' that hardens after another 10000 years and leave a cast of a footprint. I'm not sure what techniques are available and probably cost too much, but who's it going to harm to age this specimen. This photo lightened the color way too much, and call me stupid, but I can even see the toes.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sorry, but they are natural stone not Native American.

 

[civil_war22]

Yes sorry to say, but it’s just Native(natural) stone. It’s not of any ancient Native American culture or connected to what you published about there being a former “foot cast” found. While it’s highly likely for that to happen, I’ve only seen it twice, one being in natural rock formally muddy creek bed, that had a solid footprint, and even had turkey tracks in it as well, someone found out about it and chipped it out of my grandmas creek. The second was civil war soldiers boot prints in makeshift concrete when they were building a well at a fort site near me, it was only unearthed recently, and archeologist found them, photo them, and returning the dirt back around it so civilian visitors didn’t disturb them.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The sandstone was soft when he walked across it then it petrified in open air? Doesnt seem possible.

 

[martinr78]

I'm thrilled that you have responded and that there have been many views. Thanks. No one gets what I'm saying. A cast fossil is a bug for instance that disintegrates in the ground leaving a void, whereas minerals fill that void and harden over thousands of years. I've been to the Petrified Forest, which just happens to be all above ground. Impossible. Anyway. So during the last Ice Age (15000 years ago) it was pretty cold around here. And you know that glaciers do move material around. So a muddy footprint that freezes over for a thousand years, fills up with whatever, maybe freezes over again. As long as the University of Pennsylvania didn't find this item, it will never be anything but a rock. Do you ever look at the wear on the bottom of your shoe? it's in my photo. My original question was is it even possible to date a rock.

 

[Fossils]

Little Neshaminy Creek is located in the Lockaong Formation of Pennsylvania. Nearly all the rock in this formation (sandstone, mudstone and argillite) were deposited during the Early Triassic.

It's not very easy to date a sedimentary rock out of context. Usually, sedimentary rocks are dated based off of the larger formation that they are a part of, and the formation is in turn dated by analyzing index fossils and radioactive isotopes in surrounding ash layers. Your specimen, as part of the Lockaong Formation, was formed during the Triassic (being a mudstone, it perfectly matches the rock of the formation). Glaciers also did not reach very far South in Pennsylvania, so movement by glaciers is fairly unlikely.

You could bring your rock to a local museum, but they'll probably give you the same information that members are already telling you here.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Its a rock. A plain rock. It has nothing to do with native americans (unless one of them threw it at somebody). It is not a fossil. Its a rock.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

The petrified stumps were buried by volcanos many millions of years ago, not 15000 years ago. They have weathered to the surface in case you didnt know.
Any sedimentary layer would have already been petrified 15000 years ago. No indian would make a footprint in sandstone from the triassic period.
And they didnt wear shoes.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

In other words sandstone isnt formed in the open air in 15000 years.

 

[KeyaPaha]

Leaverite!

 

[civil_war22]

Leaverite!

Exactly leaveerite where you found her

 

[releventchair]

Hints of a center seam pucker toe in the moc. picture.

Your rock appears to be...A rock.

I've made similar footwear.
And did not ,and would not , wear such in the mud.
If mud could not be avoided , they would be removed.
But hey , if a tyrannosaurus was chasing me , my footwear would be of less concern....

 

[martinr78]

Even though I can take clay today and make a pot in less than a day. And Native Americans did wear leather moccasins 15000 years ago. You guys aren't thinking outside the box at all. Hey, don't lose sleep over it. Some day, I'll waste my money and date this piece.

 

[martinr78]

Seriously, thanks for your reply. This is great. I have hundreds of rocks that I've put aside from my 7 acre farmstead, because they are different. If I choose to throw any of them onto a piece of concrete, very little would change. But if I did that with this piece, then this conversation would be over, spread over hundreds of pieces. So is it really a rock?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Kemper, is that you?

 

[Kray Gelder]

"So is it really a rock?" Yes, it really is.

 

[ToddsPoint]

I don't know about NY but IL was ice free by 15,000 yrs. ago. Gary

 

[civil_war22]