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| Reply To: | A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history." < [log in to unmask]> |
| Date: | Mon, 14 Sep 1998 16:12:08 -0400 |
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A single old shoe, along with a smoked cat (!), was found behind a
chimney dating to around 1810 in the Terry-Mulford House in Orient,
New York (the eastern tip of the North Fork of Long Island). This
find is described by Frank Turano in his Ph.D. dissertation
(SUNY-Stony Brook, 1994), in which he ascribes it to "an old English
building tradition that was supposed to protect the house from evil"
(page 213). Turano's citation is :
Ralph Merrifield (1988), The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic. New
York: Amsterdam Press (pages 131-135).
Hope this helps to explain this intriguing practice!
Daria
Daria E. Merwin
Institute for Long Island Archaeology
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, New York 11794-4364
phone: (516) 632-7618
fax: (516) 632-9165
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