From several caves in the great basin and in some north anasizi or ancesterol peublo sites full basket, basket soles and sandles have been found. most of the great basin people are lumped under the name piute, however were never a tribe, just people that shared a languge group. They would double skins and sew down or strip the hide in to thongs wrap around fibers and weave a mocc top out. Mocc I've seen like this were closer to late plains hard sole or would wrap the sole up the side like hippy moccs.Some of the cave sites go back to 5000-10000 years. Pueblo sites were abandoned in the 1200s. Very little study of the 'diggers' were done until the 1870s. I cant say for sure if this was a pre 1840 thing and post 1800. If your impression is eastren you would have never seen these. However, given one living off local resorces I can't see any one saying 'we can't use that...we only make moccs out of deer(moose,elk,buff ect)'
