Texas Bigfoot Cast Print:: Examination of Detailed Impressions of the Skin

This article is the second in a series, with photos and analysis of the plaster casting of a footprint left by a Bigfoot in the clay soil near Paris, Texas in 2008. The new series of close-up photos and explanatory diagrams are also posted in an easy-view sideshow, which can be found by clicking on This Link.

The unique significance of the Texas cast is due to the small areas where finely detailed impressions of the surface features of the skin on the sole of the foot were retained in the clay, and captured in the plaster.

The cast of the footprint was made in a creek-bed near Paris, Texas. The soil in the immediate area was comprised mainly of Houston clay, a product of the natural mixing of eroded limestone with organic material. Locally it is sometimes referred to as "black gumbo" since, when moistened with water, it is a dark, viscous mixture

The detailed impressions reveal patterns of the dermal ridges, which are the spiraling whorls that configure fingerprints on primate hands, and patterns on the toes and soles of the feet. The dermal (also known as "friction") ridges were uniquely detailed and are a testament to the authenticity of the cast, since such patterns are extremely difficult to fake.

Another aspect that is plainly visible in the photographic detail are the folds in the skin at the joints of the toes, most notably on the smallest toe and the middle toe. Another significant feature revealed in the cast is that the small toe is elongated in comparison to the human "little" toe, almost with the proportions of a finger.

There is a lesser-known feature of skin patterns, seldom if ever present in other plaster casts of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch footprints. The features, referred to as "stress creases", run vertically as parallel grooves in the skin's surface on both the sole-side of the toes and on the palm-side of the fingers of humans and other primates. They are most prominent on the sections of the toes adjacent to the feet. This little-known feature is clearly visible in the Paris, Texas Bigfoot cast, and is also a feature that would be extremely difficult to replicate in a faked print. Stress creases are gradually formed by the linear stretching of the skin, as the toes or fingers are
straightened out. The creases deepen with age.

Details of the mid-portion of the cast footprint reveal a set of features related to the flexible, hinge-like joint in the middle of the tarsal, or main foot bones. Just forward of the Mid-Tarsal Flextion, at the joint of the cuboid bone and the fifth metatarsal, the surface of the foot has a thickly callused pad, below the ball of the foot. The pad is located where the weight of the Bigfoot is distributed when the creature flexes its arch and walks on the forward portion of the foot. This is in contrast to the human foot's anatomy, which has a inflexible arch. The impression also shows evidence of an elongated fifth metatarsal joint where it contacts the cuboid.

Below the Mid-Tarsal Flextion, the impression shows a pronounced, robust tendon that runs vertically along the outside of the arch of the foot above the calcaneus bone. This tendon most likely leads to a powerful muscle group that, in conjunction with the levering capacity of the tarsal bones, would enable an enhanced ability in running or jumping, by comparison to the human anatomy.

The accompanying photographs, diagrams and artwork were all either taken or drafted by the author. The photographs were taken on March 27, 2008 while on expedition.

Special thanks are due to the expedition team of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., by whose invitation the author was able to accompany the team in its field operations and to examine and photograph the cast of the Bigfoot print. More information about the Searching for Bigfoot team and their many expeditions and discoveries can be found by visiting their website, www.searchingforbigfoot.com