In June 2004, Henry Wallace of Desert Archaeology, Inc. (DAI) was contacted by Anne Montgomery, a writer for Arizona Highways with a request for a pro bono evaluation of the stone maps also known as the Peralta Stones. Anne arranged for the stones to be delivered in July to DAI by Ray Grant from the Mining Museum in Phoenix and asked that DAI analysts evaluate them and advise her about when and how the stone maps were made. Elizabeth Miska, Ph.D, Homer Thiel, M.A., and Jenny Adams, Ph.D. considered their geological background, their historic situation, their manufacture techniques, and evidence of post-manufacture deposition.
In summary, their conclusions were that the rocks themselves are not from the Superstition Mountains. The horse, heart, and witch depictions on the stones are not stylistically similar to the iconography of the 1800s, but are common in the 1900s. Similarly, the Spanish lettering and words on the stones are wrong for the mid-1800s and engravings and finishing of the stones were made by power tools. Furthermore, the stones are neither weathered from exposure nor damaged by burial as has been suggested by stories of their rediscovery. Based on these observations, the stone maps are not considered authentic as described in various stories of their origin in the mid-1800s and rediscovery in the mid-1900s. These observations were provided to Anne Montgomery who wrote an article for the January 2005 issue of Arizona Highways. None of the DAI analysts can add anything more to their conclusions at this time.