This is a video from Real History: The Controversy Surrounding the Michigan Relics Explained.
This video does a good job of explaining both sides of the controversy. The conclusion must be that James O. Scotford and Daniel E. Soper were conducting a scam in Michigan where they manufactured and his relics. However does this account for all the relics found. Wayne May project the argument that among the over 10,000 relics they could not all have been manufactured. The relics often provide scenes from the Bible.
John Halsey, Michigan State archeologist tells the story of Scotford and Soper. Scotford first discovered a relic in 1890. A relic society was formed but the decided to have an expert look at them. The first expert who looked at them said they were fakes. However Scotford would continue to find relics for the next 30 years.
William A. Benscoter, a newspaper man took it upon himself to figure out what they were doing. He discovered that Scotford's sons as well as son-in-law were busy manufacturing relics. A fellow boarder told Benscoter that hammering went on day and night.
Etta Riley, step daughter of Scotford signed an affidavit saying she had seen her stepfather manufacture plates of slate, copper and clay. This affidavit was signed in 1911 but was not available until some years later.
Several archeologists of the time declared the relics fakes, but Scotford continued to find them. Officially between 1890-1920 3000-9000 relics were found in 17 counties.
James E. Talmage of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in a dig. He studied the artifacts and declared them to be fake as early as 1811. Father James Savage had collected many of the relics, and upon his death bequeathed them to Notre Dame. Milton R. Hunter, A member of the seventy, later was able to acquire this collection from Notre Dame, and then he purchased the Soper collection. Together they became the Soper/Savage collection of over 1300 pieces. Upon Hunter's death he gave them to BYU. For years at Notre Dame, and again at BYU the relics were stored but not examined.
Henriette Mertz is an independent researcher. During World War II she worked in cartography. She started the artifacts as a challenge. At first she was very skeptical. She studied the Michigan artifacts for over 25 years and concluded they were from a religious sect living in the Americas after the time of Christ, third or fourth century C.E. She did not study the Soper/Savage collection which was in storage but other artifacts. She wrote a book, "The Mystic Symbol" which renewed interest in the relics.
Wayne May who publishes the Ancient American Magazine which supports diffusionist ideas, (interaction between old and new worlds) believes that among the fraudulent relics are some which are not and can help explain early American history. Much of his believe comes from listening to Native Americans. He has in his personal collection an oil lamp which is not customary to Native Americans but was found in West Virginia. He also points to the Glade Bergen thesis on the languages in the Michigan tablets. The symbols show similarities to other writing symbols such as the Kinderhook plates, South America Egyptian, semitic, Byblos and Mediterranean.
David Allen Deal has also studied the language of the relics. He has written a few books and several articles. He interprets the mystic symbol as YHW, the Hebrew word for Jehovah. He has also found Messiah on the plates. Further he has deciphered some of the theology, which was not prevalent when the plates were found. He also noted a calendar, and wwas able to interpret enough to observe an eclipse, which matches the calendar of past eclipses. There is also a meteor that happenned during the eclipse and is on the ancient calendar.
Dr. Richard Stamps, professor of archeology at Oakland University was called into to look at the Soper/Savage collection at BYU. He noticed tool marks on the relics which indicated to him they were frauds. The clay was molded modernly, the slate appeared to be parts from slate sinks form the time, and the copper also appeared industrial. It was also smelted and Stamps did not know of any history of smelting among Native Americans. His conclusion is that he did not see any artifact which he felt might be genuine. He concluded the artifacts did not fit in Michigan prehistory.
Thermoluminescence is a way of dating some objects. Dr. Carl Lipo from University of California Long Beach tested the clay tablet deciphered in part by Deal and determined to be from 1895-1910 plus or minus 10 years.
It would seem that this may bring an end to the claim for these artifacts. However the tested artifact may be an outlier. Some claim that the relics began to show up as early as 1850. And how could the language have been copied? Did the have a real artifact from which to copy. How could the eclipse have been determined based on an old calendar?
Unfortunately Scotford making fakes, polluted what is out there. There are some where great care was taken, that were not hammered with a chisel. How to know which are real and which are fake is muddied by the actions of the forgers.
