Baby indian foot.

[2ndoldman]

This is an old post Tiny, however I do thank you for your very persona and obviously intimately experienced input.

[Tinywolves]

I’m going to pipe up here. My mother is full blood Mandan from ND. Born and raised on the Rez. My grandmother was an elder and was born in a teepee in 1894 on land that has been in my family for over 150 yrs. My first pair of shoes were handmade /beaded Mocs made by an “auntie”. I can tell you with all certainty that the way they are made is by standing on the leather and tracing your foot. Always. Depending on what leather is used- you can wet it to soften. But contours and the like do NOT need to be addressed on a 3D form because the moc will naturally conform to your foot. Babies generally have Mocs made from buckskin before they walk as it’s very soft.

[painshill]

Moccasin form found in stockdale texas

Nope, sorry... it's an odd-shaped natural rock. Please see this entry in our Information Center:

http://forums.arrowheads.com/forum/information-center-gc33/pseudo-artifacts-geofacts-gc98/fantasy-artifact-types-gc101/109113-moccasin-lasts

Please also refrain from posting the same item in different parts of the forum.

[Andreapaige]

Moccasin form found in stockdale texas

[chase]

Very  good  point  thanks

Those lines are not incised--one can follow their trail as faults in the natural rock. There is no such thing as a moccasin last--the very idea that a rock would do better than a human foot to mold a moccasin by is unworthy of discussion. Mocs are just too simple to turn into something fanciful. A rock cannot grow with age and it would require TWO rocks to make a pair of mocs--why is it the 'second' foot never falls?
This is no artifact at all. Studying how artifacts are made will help loads

[Osorio]

He's right picking up a rock and attempting to turn it into a tool will give one a whole new world of knowledge on the tell tells of artifacts and geofacts. And this is very important in collecting to be able to distinguish the difference. Go ahead give it a try you have only knowledge to gain.

[Osorio]

A good friend found it while walking down the road to his house. He's really got the golden eye. We do a lot of trading and that's how I ended up with it, so the credit is his and all the same thank you. Its definatly one of the stranger things in my collection.

[CMD]

Hoss wrote: cool find Osorio was this a personal find? Was it in context with any other artifacts?  Very cool.

  x2.

[Hoss]

cool find Osorio was this a personal find? Was it in context with any other artifacts?  Very cool.

[taxidermist01]

:rolf:
  ..........

[Osorio]

Hello, I have a stone foot no misake. It was found in southeastern AZ, and is carved out of steatite. A little Narrow for a last or mold but no doubt a foot toes toe nails and all. Here are some pics. Though i have no idea of it's use, I suppose just a fetish.

[Neanderthal]

painshill wrote:

The primary function of a three-dimensional last is to allow hard leather which has been softened with water to be pulled very tightly into shape before being allowed to dry. This creates a stiff shoe. I don’t think native Americans used hard leather for moccasins or wore stiff shoes… did they?
How to make a moccasin:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/15249

  The only "hard" leather (rawhide) used was the sole, the upper part of the moccasins are supple. Not all of the soles were made stiff either, some are very pliable.  The natives really didn't need a form to cut the rawhide for the sole, they could use their own feet as a template.

[painshill]

The primary function of a three-dimensional last is to allow hard leather which has been softened with water to be pulled very tightly into shape before being allowed to dry. This creates a stiff shoe. I don’t think native Americans used hard leather for moccasins or wore stiff shoes… did they?
How to make a moccasin:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/15249

[Neanderthal]

ANY stone you find resembles something.  It may be a giants left toe, Orion constellation viewed upside-down, a lugnut from a 1964 studebaker hotwheel..but SOMETHING.  That does not mean they are intentional or even man-made; however, it does show you how creative people can be with their perceptions. 
People like order, they have to have a reason for everything even when there is none. Sometimes, a rock is just that...a rock. Sometimes a rock does resemble Spock's earlobe naturally. By the same token, sometimes a true artifact does look like your drunken Uncle Bob or a sheep's head, that doesn't mean it was intentional.
To save yourself a helluva lot of headache, one of your first goals should be learning how to distinguish human tooling. Knapping, abrading, pecking..whatever, human tooling. Pick up tools and try it yourself, you may be surprised what you learn.  Believe it or not, a large number of collectors cannot differentiate natural from human tooling - even if they've been collecting for years.