Snowshoeing

      Saturday afternoon I made the most of the heavy snow and went snowshoeing.  The woods were quiet except for the drumming of woodpeckers.  Snowshoes were invented by Natives, and  I like to imagine how this winter landscape would have looked to the original users.

     Only large details are visible, such as an effigy I have shown before.

 A wide wall buried in the snow.

I think there's a cairn under there.

At the base of a cliff, I see a propped boulder.  The flat top and height suggest it may have been a work table.  Underneath the propped boulder, I see some large quartz crystals. Maybe the bottom half of the rock was chipped away for quartz, resulting in this table.

I didn't find any grinding slicks, but a closer examination will have to wait until the thaw.

Many popular depictions of Native life show the nuclear family  gathered around the wetu, with Dad teaching Junior how to make arrowheads, while Mom teaches Sis her favorite stew recipe. Archaeological studies have shown that campsites had gender specific work areas separated from the residential area.  These flat propped boulders seem to be the right height and angle for a standing adult to use.  It seems logical that someone doing stone work would stand at a table, instead of risking cuts to the legs while working sitting or squatting. The presence of buried stone chips around these table would prove their use.