Moccasin Last? Or just a rock?

[Trebuchet]

Here are a couple of photos of a stone I just found while cleaning out my late parents' home. I remember it well from my early childhood. It was always described as an "Indian moccasin last", something Native Americans would have used to make their footwear on.

I know nothing of its origins but it almost certainly came from Montana or Wyoming. It appears to be some sort of dark colored granite. It's maybe one size too large to make a shoe for me, US size 8-1/2. As far as I can tell it's a natural stone, I don't see any sign of human modification.

Google and Wikipedia have told me nothing, although Google did turn up a couple of auction sites with similar (but not as nice!) objects described as moccasin lasts.

Any Native American artifact buffs here? Did the Indians (especially those of the northern great plains) use stones like this for that purpose? It seems a somewhat heavy object for a nomadic people to carry around. Or is it just a rock, with a nice story someone made up?

[swampyankee]

I suspect that Native Americans didn't use lasts to make their moccasins; no last is described in this link.

[mugaliens]

In survival school we were taught means of rapidly fashioning footwear from various materials (canvas, parachute, leather), and no last was involved in any of the methods.

The primary function of a last is to allow wetted learther to be pulled very tightly around the last before being allowed to dry. This creates a stiff shoe. None of the moccasins I've ever owned, including a pair made the old-fashioned way on the reservation by using one's foot as the form were ever made of hard leather.

[Trebuchet]

Bump for an update: I took the stone into a recently opened rock shop. The shop is new, the guy running it says he's been at it forty years. He also appears to be a Native American.

He says "It's a rock." Good enough for me. I'll hang on to it anyhow, it's got some family history attached.

Now I just need to stop my wife going in there and buying more fossils, geodes, etc. Me, I want a meteorite! He's got those too.

[nickl]

I have 3 of those and I think they are moccasin forms.

[nickl]

Look at moccasin last on this College of Idaho website


http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/about/...-tool-glossary

[danscope]

Hi, When I was in Seattle near the Pikes' market, there was an native American shop/museum there with some very knowledgeable people. I should inquire of them. They may be interested.

Dan

[mike alexander]

It's probably from northern Ohio, where the tribes were known for the quality of their footwear.
Cooper celebrated these in "The Last of the Mohicans."