Neanderthal (almost) leatherworking
Jeremy Osner
>Okay this is pretty far O.T. but there is an article in the latest (that is 2/14/05) issue of New Yorker magazine, that I think most people on the Hand Tools forum would find interesting. It is called "Sole Survivor" and profiles Petr Hlavacek, a shoe historian in Zlin, Czech Republic.
Hlavacek has spent the last few years studying and reproducing some 5,000 year-old boots, which were preserved (along with their owner) in an Alpine glacier. The boots are made of deerskin, calfskin and bearskin, and stuffed with hay and moss, and acording to the article's author are extremely comfortable. I found the story of Hlavacek's work inspiring and I think anyone who is interested in historical technology and methods will find it so.