Granado Cave - Reconstructing Fishtail Sandals

Granado Cave

Granado Cave Home | Site Discovery | Excavation | Artifacts | Kiâhâ | Sandals | References

Reconstructing Fishtail Sandals

Modeling the completed fishtail sandals.

Click on thumbnails to view larger images.

1: The warps are formed into two bundles of six yucca leaves each.

2: The bundled warps are crossed to form the characteristic "fishtail" that will become the heel of the sandal.

3: Estimating the required length of the sandal.

4: The bundles are tied together to form the heel of the sandal; the bases of the leaves are alternated from side to side.

5: The wefts are criss-crossed over the warps in a figure-8 pattern.

6: Pushing the wefts down to compact the base.

7: Midway down the sandal two extra leaves are inserted on each side; they will be used to form the side straps.

Woven Fishtail Sandals
Eight fishtail sandals were recovered from Granado Cave. All of the sandals are constructed entirely of narrow-leaf yucca leaves. They are all of the same type, known by archaeologists as "fishtail sandals", the only type of sandals found in the Rustler Hills. Similar specimens have been found in the two Caldwell shelters, the McAlpin Caves, and at Brooks Cave.

Woven fishtail sandals from Shelby Brooks Cave (after Jackson
1934: 33) and Caldwell Shelter (after Tanner 1949: Plate XIX).

The widths of the sandals from Granado Cave range from 4.2 to 9.1 cm. Interestingly, most of the sandals were made for small feet, probably for children or even infants. No sandals were found that would appear large enough to fit an adult foot, even considering that these people may have had small feet, which is not supported by skeletal studies. Sandals appear to have been made primarily for children, whose feet had not yet toughened and become insensitive to the hot desert land. Historic accounts support this argument, as they indicate that people went barefoot. However, adults may have also sometimes worn sandals.

The sandals vary in shape from the characteristic fishtail form to sandals that have a wider, square-toe shape. All were constructed in the same manner.

Bottom and top surfaces of two child's sandals found in Granado Cave.

The Reconstruction
In order to demonstrate the motor skills involved and the versatility of Yucca elata as a raw material, Dr. Hamilton replicated the construction of the sandals. From a single crown of yucca leaves, one pair of adult-sized sandals and one pair of child-sized sandals could be constructed.

An adult sandal required 58 yucca leaves. The two warp bundles consisted of six leaves each (12 leaves) with an additional two leaves placed on each of the warps to form the side straps (4 leaves). The weft consisted of 14 bundles of 3 leaves (42 leaves), for a total of 116 for the pair.

The warp bundle of the child's sandal consisted of five leaves each (10 leaves). Two leaves were required to make the side straps (4 leaves) and eight weft bundles of 2 leaves each (16 leaves) were used. A total of 32 leaves were required for one child's sandal, or 64 for a pair.

The toe loop was secured over the second toe, and there is not "left" or "right" side. The toes project slightly over the ends of the sandal, but this was not found to be bothersome to the wearer.

8: Checking the size of the sandal base.

9: The toe ring is formed by knotting together two wefts.

10: The side straps are tied together across the top of the foot and then joined to the toe ring.

11: The toe ring is placed over the second toe, not the big toe as in modern sandals.

12: The bases of the leaves are trimmed when the sandal is completed.

13: A finished sandal.

14: The finished children's and adult sandals.

Please consult the recently published book about Granado Cave for further details on all aspects of the project.

Granado Cave Home | Site Discovery | Excavation | Artifacts | Kiâhâ | Sandals | References

Citation Information
Donny L. Hamilton
2002, Granado Cave: Reconstructing Fishtail Sandals, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/granado/sandal.htm, Conservation Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University.

This page is maintained by the staff of the Conservation Research Lab in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University (crl@tamu.edu). Last update: February 12, 2002. The contents of this site and the linked pages - text, images, and data - are intended for personal information only. Downloading of information or graphic images contained herein for private use is not discouraged; however, written permission from the Conservation Research Laboratory is required for the publication of any material. For additional details, contact Donny L Hamilton (dlhamilton@tamu.edu).

Granado Cave	Granado Cave Home \| Site Discovery \| Excavation \| Artifacts \| Kiâhâ \| Sandals \| References
Reconstructing Fishtail Sandals
Modeling the completed fishtail sandals.
Click on thumbnails to view larger images.
1: The warps are formed into two bundles of six yucca leaves each. 2: The bundled warps are crossed to form the characteristic "fishtail" that will become the heel of the sandal. 3: Estimating the required length of the sandal. 4: The bundles are tied together to form the heel of the sandal; the bases of the leaves are alternated from side to side. 5: The wefts are criss-crossed over the warps in a figure-8 pattern. 6: Pushing the wefts down to compact the base. 7: Midway down the sandal two extra leaves are inserted on each side; they will be used to form the side straps.	Woven Fishtail Sandals Eight fishtail sandals were recovered from Granado Cave. All of the sandals are constructed entirely of narrow-leaf yucca leaves. They are all of the same type, known by archaeologists as "fishtail sandals", the only type of sandals found in the Rustler Hills. Similar specimens have been found in the two Caldwell shelters, the McAlpin Caves, and at Brooks Cave. Woven fishtail sandals from Shelby Brooks Cave (after Jackson 1934: 33) and Caldwell Shelter (after Tanner 1949: Plate XIX). The widths of the sandals from Granado Cave range from 4.2 to 9.1 cm. Interestingly, most of the sandals were made for small feet, probably for children or even infants. No sandals were found that would appear large enough to fit an adult foot, even considering that these people may have had small feet, which is not supported by skeletal studies. Sandals appear to have been made primarily for children, whose feet had not yet toughened and become insensitive to the hot desert land. Historic accounts support this argument, as they indicate that people went barefoot. However, adults may have also sometimes worn sandals. The sandals vary in shape from the characteristic fishtail form to sandals that have a wider, square-toe shape. All were constructed in the same manner. Bottom and top surfaces of two child's sandals found in Granado Cave. The Reconstruction In order to demonstrate the motor skills involved and the versatility of Yucca elata as a raw material, Dr. Hamilton replicated the construction of the sandals. From a single crown of yucca leaves, one pair of adult-sized sandals and one pair of child-sized sandals could be constructed. An adult sandal required 58 yucca leaves. The two warp bundles consisted of six leaves each (12 leaves) with an additional two leaves placed on each of the warps to form the side straps (4 leaves). The weft consisted of 14 bundles of 3 leaves (42 leaves), for a total of 116 for the pair. The warp bundle of the child's sandal consisted of five leaves each (10 leaves). Two leaves were required to make the side straps (4 leaves) and eight weft bundles of 2 leaves each (16 leaves) were used. A total of 32 leaves were required for one child's sandal, or 64 for a pair. The toe loop was secured over the second toe, and there is not "left" or "right" side. The toes project slightly over the ends of the sandal, but this was not found to be bothersome to the wearer.	8: Checking the size of the sandal base. 9: The toe ring is formed by knotting together two wefts. 10: The side straps are tied together across the top of the foot and then joined to the toe ring. 11: The toe ring is placed over the second toe, not the big toe as in modern sandals. 12: The bases of the leaves are trimmed when the sandal is completed. 13: A finished sandal. 14: The finished children's and adult sandals.

Please consult the recently published book about Granado Cave for further details on all aspects of the project.

Granado Cave Home \| Site Discovery \| Excavation \| Artifacts \| Kiâhâ \| Sandals \| References
Citation Information Donny L. Hamilton 2002, Granado Cave: Reconstructing Fishtail Sandals, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/granado/sandal.htm, Conservation Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University. This page is maintained by the staff of the Conservation Research Lab in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University (crl@tamu.edu). Last update: February 12, 2002. The contents of this site and the linked pages - text, images, and data - are intended for personal information only. Downloading of information or graphic images contained herein for private use is not discouraged; however, written permission from the Conservation Research Laboratory is required for the publication of any material. For additional details, contact Donny L Hamilton (dlhamilton@tamu.edu).