markmar,
I am obviously not a scientist but I thought that you might appreciate a response formed by applying scientific reasoning.
First, I needed to learn about calcic horizons and the conditions in which they form. Joseph R. McAuliffe's work on Sonoran Desert soils is, in my now educated opinion, about as helpful as it gets.
"Many desert soils contain prominent, whitish layers called calcic horizons. These are accumulations of calcium carbonate, the same material found in chalk, concrete, and agricultural lime. In the Sonoran Desert, the tops of these horizons are typically less than twenty to forty inches (50 to 100 cm) below the soil surface. Calcic horizons may be very thin (six inches; 15 cm) in some soils and contain only small amounts of calcium carbonate. In other soils, these horizons may be very thick (greater than three feet; 1 m) and strongly cemented. These nearly impenetrable, cemented layers, or petrocalcic horizons, are commonly called caliche."
According to McAuliffe, scientist have only recently demonstrated the role of wind, calcium carbonate dust particles, and precipitation in the formation of these calcic horizons (caliche). It's a slow, continuous process taking thousands of years to form.
Think about this for a moment. Countless thin coatings of this chalk like dust being washed down into the desert sub-soils by rain, and over long periods of time, and by chemical reaction, transforming into these hard, cement like whitish calcic horizons.
"The amount of precipitation that infiltrates into the soil is the most important factor that determines the depth to which calcium carbonate is transported and accumulates."
Annually, Tucson receives about ten inches of rain.
"In relatively moist parts of the Sonoran Desert, such as areas near Tucson, Arizona, where annual precipitation averages ten inches (25 cm) or more, calcium carbonate tends to accumulate at depths exceeding ten inches (25 cm)".
If this is correct, any undisturbed caliche deposit at the kiln site should begin at depths greater than ten inches. Meaning, there should be at least ten inches of soils covering the caliche. That was not the case. Compare this to the photograph, this time paying attention to the soil depth (the thin dark band above the caliche). It measures four to six inches at best.
The "small hill" from which the objects were taken was actually an abandoned materials mound.
At the time of their discovery, the positioning of the Silverbell Road objects "beneath layers of undisturbed caliche" perplexed even the most adamant skeptics. The fact that they were found in (or beneath?) the Pleistocene deposit (2.4 million to 11,000 years old) bearing inscriptions dating to the year 775 or 800 (AD) made absolutely no sense. And still, thats where they were found. Had the objects been discovered closer to the surface, in the Holocene deposits (less than 11,000 years), opinions today would be much different.
It didn't happen that way. The impossible discovery level and the fact that hallow cavities were reported around several of the object was, for skeptics, a red flag. However, based on the testimony of those who actually witnessed the excavations and according to several professionals, the objects were clearly encrusted in caliche.
The result was a general confusion and suspicion that eventually lead to accusations of fraud. Personally, I believe that the finger pointing was unjustified.
I am convinced that the objects were encased in material (caliche?) and found exactly as reported only, the encasement occurred sometime in the 1890's. The small mound could not have contained a Paleocene deposit, only something that came to resembled one.
Remember at one time, this was the site of six reported lime kilns. Thousands of pounds of abandoned processed and raw materials hauled from the Tucson Mountains would have been piled there. In thirty years (and 300+ inches of rain), this undisturbed, abandon "mass" would have eventually melted, dissolved, and reformed into something resembling a Paleocene deposit. The process continues today and the kiln operation has, for the most part, disappeared back into the earth.
The people involved in the search at the time could hardly appreciate the location that they were working. Did they know about the six kilns that once stood there (only one remains) or the fact that the lime kiln operation was directly responsible for deforesting much of the Tucson area? The amount of material processed at the sight must have been enormous.
If the objects were discovered as reported, and not "planted" during the dig, and if the inscribed dates are "correct" (not real) this is the only possible "scientific" explanation. The objects were made and buried in the mound of caliche material some thirty years before their discovery. About the same time these kilns were shut down by concerned ranchers.
As to the identity of the rascal responsible for the objects, I have a name for the hat, but it's only a guess at this point.
I don't see any need to write about the inscriptions found on the objects as that argument has been well covered by others here on TNet, and in the media, and the problems are numerous.
It's a strange fantasy, perpetuated by people who care little for historical accuracy and even less for those they string along with offers of obtaining some secret, reserved knowledge. It's nonsense.
You are correct about one thing. The objects are now undeniably part of the history of the American Southwest.
Photograph: JM Hunter The Tucson Artifacts
"Like" was not a strong enough compliment IMHO.
