moccasin last

[Jon Stewart]

Archeologist C.G. Yeager mentions them in a small paragraph in his book and remarked that he has seen only one in a collection and thats IF what he saw was actually a moccasin last. A few years ago I bought one (only artifact that I have ever purchased besides broken arrowheads) from a man that found it on the desert back in the 70's. He had a very large collection of larger artifacts, axe heads, adzes,celts etc, but it was the foot/shoe looking rock that drew my attention so I bought it . While speaking with the seller another man was standing there and said that he also found one out on the desert while deer hunting and it looked just like the one that I bought. I sent a photo of mine to Mr Yeager to get his opinion and he wrote:

"If there were, in fact, moccasin lasts, this would certainly be one. It's without a doubt one of the nicest shaped stones I've ever seen. Also, there does not appear to be "use wear marks" as would be present on a grind stone or mano."


My question has anybody else found one out there?

I would post a photo if I knew how to do it, duh!!! I would be glad to send a photo to anyone that would be interested in looking at it.

 

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[Sacajewea]

My Moccasin Last

Archeologist C.G. Yeager mentions them in a small paragraph in his book and remarked that he has seen only one in a collection and thats IF what he saw was actually a moccasin last. A few years ago I bought one (only artifact that I have ever purchased besides broken arrowheads) from a man that found it on the desert back in the 70's. He had a very large collection of larger artifacts, axe heads, adzes,celts etc, but it was the foot/shoe looking rock that drew my attention so I bought it . While speaking with the seller another man was standing there and said that he also found one out on the desert while deer hunting and it looked just like the one that I bought. I sent a photo of mine to Mr Yeager to get his opinion and he wrote:

"If there were, in fact, moccasin lasts, this would certainly be one. It's without a doubt one of the nicest shaped stones I've ever seen. Also, there does not appear to be "use wear marks" as would be present on a grind stone or mano."


My question has anybody else found one out there?

I would post a photo if I knew how to do it, duh!!! I would be glad to send a photo to anyone that would be interested in looking at it.

I also have a Moccasin Last for infants , I knew what it looked like to me but have never seen one mentioned till now. Mine is also made of stone and is in excellent condition for the possible age of it. Added 2 pictures of mine for all to examine. Hopefully it is also what your referring to as I believe it to be. Thx for examining it. Anna

 

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[Charl]

Welcome to TNet, Anna. Unfortunately, as noted earlier in the thread, there really is no such thing as a moccasin last. And I regret to say what you are showing is only a natural rock.

 

[Jon Stewart]

Anna, no-one will really know for sure if we have lasts or not. Mine is being used as a door stop.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

didn't the Indians use newspapers like the rest of us do?

 

[Jon Stewart]

My son gets on me for using a copper pressure flaker instead of an antler when I am flint knapping. I just tell him that if there had been a Walmart out there, they would have went there and picked up some copper and used it. And then I have to remind him that some Indians did use copper when making artifacts.

 

[quito]

I wouldn't be so quick to judge based on some mere mortals opinions.

I think there are too many foot shaped rocks found on known sites to completely discount the lasts. Here's mine.:-) Found on my favorite site a few years back.

 

[Charl]

Maybe Neanderthal will weigh in here, but, in the meantime, I found this comment by him on a different forum from a few years back....

"Realistically, there is no such artifact as a "moccasin last". That's a myth that has been perpetuated for a very long period of time. There would have to be a "last" for each foot of every native out there, and that simply isn't the case. I doubt that a form would have been necessary. BUT, if one was used, it would have been much simpler to make one out of rawhide than stone. Once a pair of moccasins were made the sole alone could have been used for the next pair, etc."

Neanderthal makes an an excellent point, IMO. With all those feet, in a village of hundreds or thousands, and people growing from children through adulthood, man, think about that for a second, we should be finding more moccasin lasts then arrowheads! They should be one of the most common artifacts found with all those feet to deal with. Lol...

i believe all the examples shown here are rocks.

 

[rock]

Makes allot of sense Charl.

 

[quito]

"I find foot shaped stones all the time. Natural but foot shaped."

Interesting. Could you save a couple and post them in the future.

 

[Jon Stewart]

I guess no-one will really know if they were used BUT someone wrote they couldn't imagine someone dragging one around from camp to camp because of it's weight. That statement don't hold water. I have metate's that are very heavy, one weighing in at around 40# and a round rock larger than a basketball with a hole going through from top to bottom that was used as a mortor that also weighs in at around 40#. Like most everyone on this forum posts their thoughts as guesses, heavy tools were left at camps and used when the Natives came back year to year. My "guess" is that it took hundreds of years for these tools to be formed like that and they were not "drug" around from camp to camp but left at camp sites and used on return.

I was metal detecting one winter in an area where soldiers were known to hang out. I got a hit on my detector and under a very large rock was a military button. I flipped the rock over to recover the button and the upside down rock was a metate.

 

[theviking]

Maybe Neanderthal will weigh in here, but, in the meantime, I found this comment by him on a different forum from a few years back....

"Realistically, there is no such artifact as a "moccasin last". That's a myth that has been perpetuated for a very long period of time. There would have to be a "last" for each foot of every native out there, and that simply isn't the case. I doubt that a form would have been necessary. BUT, if one was used, it would have been much simpler to make one out of rawhide than stone. Once a pair of moccasins were made the sole alone could have been used for the next pair, etc."

Neanderthal makes an an excellent point, IMO. With all those feet, in a village of hundreds or thousands, and people growing from children through adulthood, man, think about that for a second, we should be finding more moccasin lasts then arrowheads! They should be one of the most common artifacts found with all those feet to deal with. Lol...

i believe all the examples shown here are rocks.

My "guess" is that I completely agree with both of these comments. IMHO none of the examples shown here are helping to prove their existence. Have you looked at your foot lately?

 

[Sallysue]

What do you guys know about this saddle

How about a grass sandle

 

[Backbacon]

Whoever wore that Shaq-sized moccasin must have been popular with the ladies....

I have big moccasins eh?

 

[Sallysue]

The word "EH" tells me where your from. I duck hunted up there several years super good hunting

 

[Sallysue]

In fact I use it on my hunting dog to get her attention than give her hand commands on what I want her to do . My thinking was it got my attention when the guys said it up there and it would surely work my hunting gal Miss Dee

 

[Sallysue]

All the guys I met up there were supper good guys Heres a pic of Miss Dee she has only miss 3 days of dove hunting eh pretty good huh ?

 

[scepter1]

I saw this one on a rock (agate) site a while back, but just a rock...

View attachment 871923

 

[quito]

What do you guys know about this saddle

Looks like it would make a foot itch.

Must have been a cave find from a nice dry climate.

 

[Sallysue]

It did come out of a cave

 

[quito]

"My "guess" is that I completely agree with both of these comments. IMHO none of the examples shown here are helping to prove their existence. Have you looked at your foot lately?"

While Neanderthal is one of the most informed here, and has my utmost respect, and always has. (He was also the first person I met and visited with via pm on here that wasn't a mod), but both of those comments can be easily argued.

But I am not going to. It's possible we will never know for certain like a lot of other things, and I can live with that. In the meantime, I'm going to hang on to my rock in the shape of the sole of a moccasin.

Have you looked at your boot or shoe? It doesn't look anything like your foot. Now does it?