"Tools Leave Marks"

The Michigan Relics were discovered in 1890 by James Scotford, in Mountcalm County, Michigan. Made from clay, cooper, slate, and other stones, the relics had strange markings and hieroglyphs that suggested an origin closer to the Fertile Crescent than the Great Lakes. Scotford continued his investigations, finding relics in various Michigan sites, the last at Crystal Lake. While many observers recognized the classic American confidence huck, proof was elusive. More than a century after the first finds, the archaeologist Richard B. Stamps cracked the code. As he puts it: “Modern tools leave modern marks. The appearance of saw cuts on the slate and saw-cut imprints on the clay are evidence of saws. Planer marks on finished wood show up on clay artifacts. Files are evidenced by their marks on copper and slate pieces. Cut marks on copper artifacts were made with cold chisels. Iron graving tools, a compass, and a ruler left their mark on copper and slate tablets.” 

Source: 

Richard B. Stamps, “Tools Leave Marks: Material Analysis of the Scotford-Soper-Savage Michigan Relics,” BYU Studies, 40:3 (2001): 210-238. 

Cyanotype photogram of broken glass on gouged, burned, wood block, mounted on burned, stained wood 

Dimensions: 10"x10"x1" (each piece)

Tools employed: enlarger, emulsion, chemistry, knives, wood gouges, blow torch, beakers, bottles, stirrers, sponges, rulers, hammers, files, sandpaper and glass