mystery from the depths of time

7/23/2019 Mystery From the Depths of Time

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Mystery from the Depths of Time

by Pierre Stromberg and Paul Heinrich[Last Update: May 31, 2000]

Introduction

Creationists have often been criticized for failing to present original research andevidence that would overthrow our contemporary view of human origins in favor ofanother. However, this is not an entirely fair accusation. The creation "science" field

known as OOPARTS, or "Out Of Place ARTifactS" is a lively area of study withnumerous examples. This paper will examine the most popular and least understoodspecimen, the Coso Artifact.

The Discovery

The story of the CosoArtifact has beenembellished over theyears, but nearly all

accounts of the actualdiscovery are basicallyunchanged.

On February 13, 1961,Wallace Lane, VirginiaMaxey, and MikeMikesell were seekinginteresting mineralspecimens, particularlygeodes, for their "LM

& V Rockhounds Gem and Gift Shop" in Olancha, California. On this particular day,the trio were about six miles northeast of Olancha, near the top of a peak about 4,300feet in elevation and about 340 feet above the dry bed of Owens Lake. According toMaxey, "We hiked about three miles north, after we had parked some five miles east ofState Highway 395, south of Olancha, California." At lunchtime, after collecting rocksmost of the morning, all three placed their specimens in the rock sack Mikesell wascarrying.

The next day in the gift shop's workroom, Mikesell ruined a nearly new diamond sawblade while cutting what he thought was a geode. Inside the nodule that was cut,Mikesell did not find a cavity as so many geodes have, but a perfectly circular section ofvery hard, white material that appeared to be porcelain. In the center of the porcelain


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cylinder, was a 2-millimeter shaft of bright metal. The metal shaft responded to amagnet.

There were still other odd qualities about the specimen. The outer layer of the specimenwas encrusted with fossil shells and their fragments. In addition to shells, the

discoverers noticed two nonmagnetic metallic metal objects in the crust, resembling anail and a washer. Stranger still, the inner layer was hexagonal and seemed to form acasing around the hard porcelain cylinder. Within the inner layer, a layer ofdecomposing copper surrounded the porcelain cylinder.

The Initial Investigations

Very little is known about the initial physicalinspections of the artifact. According to discovererVirginia Maxey, a geologist she spoke with who

examined the fossil shells encrusting the specimensaid the nodule had taken at least 500,000 years toattain its present form. However, the identity of thefirst geologist is still a mystery, and his findings werenever officially published.

Another investigation was conducted by creationistRon Calais. Calais is the only other individual knownto have physically inspected the artifact, and wasallowed to take photographs of the nodule in both Xray and natural light. Calais's X rays brought interest

in the artifact to a new level. The X ray of the upper end of the object seemed to revealsome sort of tiny spring or helix. INFO Journal Publisher Ronald J. Willis speculatedthat it could actually be "the remains of a corroded piece of metal with threads." Theother half of the artifact revealed a sheath of metal, presumably copper, covering the

porcelain cylinder.

The Artifact: Where Is It Now?

The last known individual to possess the Coso Artifact was one of the originaldiscoverers, Wallace Lane. According to the Spring 1969 issue of INFO Journal, Lane

was the last known person to possess the object. It was on display in his home, but headamantly refused to allow anyone to examine it. However, he had a standing offer tosell it for $25,000. In September 1999, a national search was attempted to locate any ofthe original discoverers, but the attempt was fruitless. The authors of this article suspectthat Wallace Lane is dead, and the location of the artifact is unknown, possiblydestroyed. Virginia Maxey is alive, but is avoiding any public comment. Thewhereabouts of Mike Mikesell are still unknown.

Fantastic Speculations

Ever since the artifact was first discovered, numerous individuals have speculated aboutits mysterious origin and possible use.


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Virginia Maxey speculated that "one possibility is that it is barely 100 years old -something that lay in a mud bed, then got baked and hardened by the sun in a matter ofa few years." However it was Maxey who supplied the claim that the artifact could be atleast 500,000 years old. "Or else it is an instrument as old as legendary Mu or Atlantis.Perhaps it is a communications device or some sort of directional finder or some

instrument made to utilize power principles we know nothing about."

INFO Journal editor Paul J. Willis speculated that the artifact was some sort of sparkplug. His brother found the suggestion extraordinary. "I was thunderstruck," he wrote,"for suddenly all the parts seemed to fit. The object sliced in two shows a hexagonal

part, a porcelain or ceramic insulator with a central metallic shaft - the basiccomponents of any spark plug." However, the two could not reconcile the upper endfeaturing a "spring", "helix", or "metal threads" with any contemporary spark plug. Sothe mystery continued. The artifact even appeared briefly at the end of an "In SearchOf..." episode hosted by Leonard Nimoy.

The Internet offers a plethora of other opinions on the subject. While most websitessimply report the mystery as described earlier, some have taken to speculate on the

purpose and origin of such a device. Brian Wood, described as "International Directorof MICAP (Multinational Investigations Cooperative on Aerial Phenomena) andProducer/Director of The Paranet Continuum Radio Program" suggested that if it isn'tsimply a spark plug, "My guess would be some sort of antenna. The constructionreminds me of modern attempts at superconductors. Wonder if anyone's tried replicatingthe thing using ceramic superconductors and then cooling the thing off with liquidnitrogen to see what happens." (Source: http://emerald.oz.net/jz/sphinxt.htmlSeptember10, 1999).

Joe Held's "Joe's UFOs and Space Mysteries" thinks the device "looks similar to a smallcapacitor with several different materials. The object is roughly the size of an auto spark

plug. Since the formation of geodes can take millions of years this was a very curiousfind indeed." (Source: http://members.tripod.com/J_Kidd/index.html September 10,1999).

The Creationists and the Artifact

With such outrageous speculation, individuals familiar with the creation/evolutioncontroversy would assume that fundamentalist Christians would stay far away from

such artifacts and stories. But this is far from the case. Numerous creationists have beeninvolved with this artifact since its discovery.

As noted earlier, Ron Calais was involved with the Coso Artifact since its initialdiscovery. Calais was the individual responsible for the natural light and X ray

photographs of the artifact. He also brought the Coso Artifact to the attention of theCharles Fort Society, publisher of INFO Journal, whose 1969 article is the primarysource for information on this object to date. Calais is still a contributor to creationismand most recently had a paper published in the June 1996 edition of the CreationResearch Society Quarterly ("Slippery Phylogenies: Evolutionary Speculations on theOrigin of Frogs", by Ron Calais and A.W. Mehlert, pp. 44-48.).


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Creation Outreach, a Spokane, Washington based creationism ministry promotes theartifact on their website (source: http://www.ior.com/~kjc/pages/strange.htmSeptember22, 1999) by reprinting an article by J.R. Jochmans. Jochman's article on the CreationOutreach's website, originally available through the national Bible-Science Associationconcluded, "As a whole, the 'Coso artifact' is now believed to be something more than a

piece of machinery: The carefully shaped ceramic, metallic shaft and coppercomponents hint at some form of electrical instrument. The closest modern apparatusthat researchers have been able to equate it with is a spark plug. However, there arecertain features - particularly the spring or helix terminal - that does [sic] not correspondto any known spark plug today." Creation Outreach member Jim Marisch is known tohave lectured in local Spokane public school classrooms, but it is unknown if hespecifically mentioned the artifact in question. Nevertheless, students exposed toCreation Outreach would inevitably be redirected to their websitefor furtherinformation.

It should also be noted that according to a letter printed in "Atlantis Arising", J.R.

Jochmans claims to have ghost-written three quarters of the book "Secrets of the LostRaces" by Rene Noorbergen. "Secrets of the Lost Races" has often been cited as areference for the Coso Artifact by young-earth creationists.

Carl Baugh, a young-earth creationist whose claim to fame is the promotion of thePaluxy River Tracks, notes the Coso Artifact in his online dissertation (source:http://home.texoma.net/~linesden/cem/diss/diss2.htm October 10, 1999) using materialfrom Noorbergen's "Secrets of the Lost Races."

Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, the Institute for Creation Research has been heavilypromoting the Coso Artifact through its adjunct faculty member, Dr. Donald Chittick.According to his own literature, Chittick, a Newberg, Oregon resident, holds a Ph.D. in

physical chemistry and has taught at the University of Puget Sound and George FoxCollege. Dr. Chittick is also an active lecturer, having traveled in the United State andCanada for the past 20 years, speaking before students both public and private aboutcreationism. In 1981, he was one of five "creation scientists" who testified in pretrialdepositions for the Arkansas "Balanced Treatment Act", which required that "creationscience" be taught along with evolutionary biology in that state's public schools. And in1993, his lecture to public high school students in Stanwood, Washington led to acommunity furor, threats from the ACLU, and a subsequent shakeup in the local school

board.

Though he claims to have little to do with the ICR, Dr. Chittick encourages audiences athis lectures to join the ICR, sells their literature, and signs up interested parties for theICR's mailing list. Most recently, Donald Chittick delivered his "Puzzle of AncientMan" lecture on March 9, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The event was sponsored bythe ICR as part of their "Case for Creation" lecture series. According to the ICR, adjunctfaculty members are "expected to be of high moral character and personal integrity,firmly committed to the ICR Tenets and Educational Philosophy."

"The Puzzle of Ancient Man" lecture is basically a summary of Chittick's bookof thesame title. Like the book, Chittick begins his lecture by presenting the Coso Artifact as

evidence that ancient civilizations were extremely advanced. Presuming that it is anancient spark plug, Chittick explains, "A spark plug is evidence of fairly sophisticated


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development. Reliable dates for such finds are difficult to obtain. However, it has beencommonly assumed that formation of geodes requires significant amounts of time.Finding a spark plug in a rock considered to be very old would indeed give it the labelof an out-of-place artifact. Evidence of advanced technology, like spark plugs, shouldnot, according to evolutionism, be discovered in old rocks."

Problems with the Artifact Story

Creationist and other proponents of the artifact have woven a riveting story. But amultitude of problems regarding the claims and recent discoveries have cast a muchdifferent picture.

The Geologic

Evidence: Is the Coso

Artifact Encased in a

Geode?

When it comes to thegeologic evidence, the moststunning claim is that theartifact was discovered in ageode. As Donald Chittickhas noted, formation of ageode requires significantamounts of time. But what

is often overlooked is that the Coso Artifact possesses no characteristics that wouldclassify it as a geode. It is true that the original discoverers were looking for geodes onthe day the artifact was found. But this alone is insufficient evidence that the artifact is ageode.

Geodes consists of a thin outer shell, composed of dense chalcedonic silica, and arefilled with a layer of quartz crystals. The Coso Artifact does not possess either feature.Discoverer Virginia Maxey referred to the material covering the artifact as "hardenedclay" and noted that it had picked up a miscellaneous collection of pebbles, including a"nail and washer." Analysis of the surface material is noted as having a hardness ofMohs 3, which is not very hard and certainly much softer than chalcedony.

Other arguments regarding the ancient source of the Coso Artifact focus on the allegedfossil shells encrusted on the surface. As noted earlier, if a nail and washer were alsofound on the surface, the significance of the fossil shells is seriously diminished. Evencreationist literature notes how surface materials can lead to mistaken assumptionsabout the true age of individual objects. Creation Ex Nihilo's June-August 1998 issuefeatures fence wire that had become encased by surface materials including "fossil"seashells (quotes in the original article).

The Artifact Itself: What Is It?

As noted earlier, numerous individuals have speculated about the apparent purpose ofthe Coso Artifact. The most popular suggestion is that it is some sort of spark plug,


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designed and manufactured by an advanced civilization eons ago for technologicaldevices equal to or surpassing our own. But as mentioned earlier, there's no reason toassume that the artifact was manufactured thousands of years ago. Some have half-heartedly suggested that the device could have been a contemporary spark plug circa1961. But ancient artifact proponents point to the X ray of the top half, which indicates

some type of tiny spring or helix mechanism. The content of this X ray, they argue, runscontrary to what we know about contemporary spark plugs.

A clue to what is revealed in the X ray lies in one of the earliest articles about theartifact. In the Spring 1969 issue of INFO Journal, Ronald Willis suggested that theupper end of the object "is actually the remains of a corroded piece of metal withthreads." The Willis brothers seriously suspected the object was a contemporary spark

plug, but were still unable to explain what was in the X ray. Spark plugs of the 1960'sera typically terminated with no visible threading and tapered to a dull point.

Though many of the interested parties agreed that the artifact bore a striking

resemblance to a twentieth-century spark plug, no one seems to have considered theidea of evolution - specifically, spark plug evolution.

In the course of investigating the origins of the Coso Artifact, it was determined thatmining operations were conducted in the area of discovery early in the twentiethcentury. This discovery lead to the tantalizing possibility that primitive combustionengines were used for various purposes in the Coso mountain range. Combustionengines were a very new technology at this time, and so we extrapolated that spark plugtechnology would also have been in its infancy. Even if this assumption were correct,identification of the spark plug in question would seem to be a daunting task. To helpthe authors of this article identify the Coso Artifact, they decided to turn to a little-known group of experts - The Spark Plug Collectors of America.

Letters were sent to four different spark plug collectors describing the Coso Artifact,including Ron Calais' X rays of the object in question. Collectors were asked if theycould identify what they saw in the photos. The collectors were expected to providesome vague hints, or to not be able to identify the artifact at all. Their actual answerswere stunning.

On September 9, 1999, Chad Windham, President of the Spark Plug Collectors ofAmerica called Pierre Stromberg of Pacific Northwest Skeptics. Windham initially

suspected that Stromberg was a fellow spark plug collector, writing incognito, with theostensible motive of hoaxing him. His fears were compounded by the fact that there isan actual line of spark plugs named "Stromberg." Windham had also contacted anotherspark plug collector, strongly suspecting that he was the culprit, and made a point oflooking up the website of Pacific Northwest Skeptics to ensure it actually existed.

Though Stromberg repeatedly assured Windham that his intentions were purely forresearch, he was puzzled why Windham was so suspicious and asked him to explain.Windham replied that it was so obvious to him that the artifact was a contemporaryspark plug, the letter had to be a hoax. "I knew what it was the moment I saw the x-rays" Windham stated. He also added that it was not uncommon at all for spark plug

collectors to play pranks on one another.


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"Are you sure it's a spark plug?" Stromberg asked?

"There's no question about it, " Windham replied, barely containinghis laughter, "it's a spark plug."

Stromberg asked Windham if he could identify the particular make ofthe spark plug. Windham replied he was certain that it was a 1920'sera Champion spark plug. Stromberg was stunned by the collector'scertainty, but Windham insisted that he had nailed the identification.Windham offered to send two identical spark plugs, the only possible

but slight difference being the diameter of the packing nut at the baseof the plug. Stromberg accepted Windham's offer and a few days later a package arrivedin the mail.

Ten days after the phone call with Windham, Pierre Stromberg received a phone callfrom Bill Bond, founder of the Spark Plug Collectors of America, and curator of a

private museum of spark plugs containing more than two thousand specimens. Bondsaid he hadn't spoken to Windham, but said he thought he knew the identity of the CosoArtifact, "A 1920s Champion spark plug." Spark plug collector Mike Healy alsoconcurred with Bond and Windham's assessment about the spark plug. The fourthcollector, Jeff Bartheld, Vice-President of the Spark Plug Collectors of Americacontacted Stromberg via postal mail on October 18, 1999, and also confirmed that theartifact was a 1920s Champion spark plug. To date, there has been no dissent in thespark plug collector community as to the origins of the Coso Artifact.

Since Chad Windham mentioned that spark plug collectors enjoy pulling pranks on oneanother, the question of deliberate fraud inevitably crops up in relation to the CosoArtifact. However, there is little hard evidence that the original discoverers intended todeceive anyone from the start. Pacific Northwest Skeptics investigated the Spark PlugCollectors of America. The group formed in 1975, well after the discovery of theartifact, and none of the three discoverers was ever affiliated in any way that thecollectors can recall. Windham and Bond insist that while spark plug collectors enjoyhoaxing one another, they cannot imagine that any of their members would take a prankthis far.

Comparisons and Analysis

On September 14, 1999, Stromberg received a package from Chad Windham. Inside thepackage were the two spark plugs Windham had promised along with an analysis of thespecimens. Windham writes,

I am enclosing two spark plugs made by Champion Spark Plug company circa - 1920's.

Plug #1 is 7/8" - 18 thread. I have loosely assembled the plug, and chipped the "brass

hat" off to show the configuration of it and the porcelain under it. Plug #2 is 1/2" NPT -

of same design.

The diameter of the porcelain on Plug #1 is slightly less than 3/4" - close to the

dimension in your letter. As you can see the base and packing nut which hold the

porcelain, are sealed with a copper and asbestos gasket. This corresponds with the


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article. The center electrode of plugs were made of special alloys which may support

"...cut in two in 1961 but five years afterwards had no tarnishing visible."

The sketches included clearly show one rib on the upper end of the porcelain, although

Champion used two ribs in this era - probably just an artist's error. The "top hat

matches those of "plug 1 and 2."

As for the outer shell, it obviously decayed - probably from salt water (or other

corrosive substance) and the outer crust is merely some sort of deposit like sea shells or

other deposits collected on the deteriorating surfaces of the spark plug base.

There is _NO_ doubt that this is merely an old spark plug. Most probably, it is a

Champion spark plug, similar to the two enclosed.

Windham's letter did indeed match a careful analysisof the specimens. Most striking is the brass "top hat"

that has so vexed previous attempts to provide arational explanation for the artifact. But thesimilarities are more than skin deep. BecauseWindham had chipped the brass top hat off specimen#1, the spark plug revealed a metal shaft terminatingin a flared end, presumably to help secure the top hatto the plug's porcelain cylinder. This revelation led tospeculation that such a flared tip could also be visiblein the original X ray of the brass hat. And indeed, asshown at left, the flared end of the metal shaft alsoappears in the Coso Artifact. The shaft in the X ray,

just below the flare, also reveals deterioration until itmeets the porcelain cylinder. This, too, is exactly what we would expect if the artifact isa 1920s-era Champion spark plug. An X ray of the authors' own disassembled specimenreveals a picture very similar to the original X ray of the Coso Artifact. As with theoriginal artifact, the central metal shaft of both specimens responds toa magnet.

Proponents of fantastic stories regarding the artifact have mademention of mysterious copper rings that encase the porcelain. But thistoo can be easily explained. Specimen #1 provided by Chad Windham

was completely disassembled, revealing a pair of copper ringssandwiching an asbestos lining (right). According to Windham, thisdesign was necessary because porcelain and steel have vastly differingexpansion rates, so the copper was used for compensation purposes.

Specimen #2 was not disassembled by Windham, but also presented afeature that could explain why the artifact had not been identifieddecades ago. Specimen #2, though suffering from severe tarnish, came with a top nutscrewed into its top hat. Almost all Champion spark plug advertisements of the first halfof the twentieth century showed pictures of their spark plugs including the top nutalready screwed into place. In some cases, the top nut comes in two forms, one of which

closely mimics the tip of today's contemporary spark plugs, which have no threading


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whatsoever. So it becomes rather easy to understand why the appearance of threads inthe Coso Artifact seemed so puzzling to the original investigators.

Spark plug collectors are quite familiar with spark plugs that have been found inunusual places. The Summer 1998 issue of "The Igniter," published by the Spark Plug

Collectors of America, features such an item on page 20. Collector Joe Cook recounted,"Once while scuba diving, a friend of mine made a rare discovery with his underwatermetal detector. It looks like a ball of barnacles and shells, but has a spark plug topsticking out of it. Apparently this plug has been under water for quite some time! Heasked me if I still collected plugs. I said yes and then he asked me if I ever heard of a'King Neptune' special. I said no and headed for the 'Master list' to look it up. When Icouldn't find a 'King Neptune' special he began to laugh and handed me thebarnaclecovered plugand he said 'bet you don't have one like this.' He was right!"

It should be noted that thecorrosion of the Coso Artifact

almost completely destroyedany of the iron-alloy-basedcomponents, with the exceptionof the metal shaft encased in the

porcelain cylinder. The samplesreceived from Chad Windhamalso revealed corrosion of theiron-based components, but the

brass top hats were unscathed,with the exception of sometarnishing. If the Coso Artifactis indeed a 1920s-era Championspark plug, the X ray of an

almost perfectly preserved top hat is exactly what one would expect. Brass, a copper-zinc alloy is commonly engineered to resist corrosion far better than iron-based alloys.In harsh environments, copper tends to outlast iron, but still succumbs fairly quickly.The rates of decay in the Coso Artifact match the rates of decay one would see in a1920's era Champion spark plug. For an excellent review of how ferrous and non-ferrous alloys decay over time, please see "The Elements of ArchaeologicalConservation" by J.M. Cronyn. This article includes numerous photographs, includingX rays, of contemporary objects that have completely decayed into oxide nodules. Like

the Coso Artifact, these examples also feature empty cavities where the originalmaterials once resided. Examples include X rays of a nodule containing the perfectlypreserved shape of a bolt, plating on a padlock (including its internal workings), and abelt buckle.

The formation of the iron oxide nodule likely was hastened by the fact that corrosive"mineral dust" is blown off of the dry lake bed of Lake Owen and onto the surroundinguplands where the artifact was discovered. Salts created by the evaporation of the lakewater is regularly blown off of the lake bed by local windstorms. The U.S. GeologicalSurvey has conducted extensive investigations of this phenomena (Sourcehttp://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/owens/ May 31, 2000).


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Finally, as noted earlier, the last known individual in possession of the artifact wasWallace Lane, who was offering it for sale for $25,000. Bill Bond, a spark plug museumcurator was asked how much a 1920s-era Champion spark plug would be worth today.His answer was, "A couple o' bucks. Max."

Reaction from the Paranormal Community

During the course of research, the authors of this paper asked Dr. Chittick why he feltthe Coso Artifact was an object worthy of presentation to the public. Dr. Chittick wasspecifically asked how he reconciled a previous age estimate of 500,000 years with hisyoung-earth creationist beliefs. On September 29, 1999 Chittick responded:

The article's speculation that it had taken at least 500,000 years to attain the present

form is just that: speculation. Actual petrification of such objects proceeds normally

quite rapidly, as is illustrated by several other similar formations. See for instance, the

note about the petrified miner's hat on the back cover of Creation Ex Nihilo (Vol. 17,

No. 3) for June-August, 1995. See also an article about another "fossil" spark plug inCreation Ex Nihilo (Vol. 21, No. 4) for September-November, 1999 on page 6.

You asked what I thought about its age. My best guess is that it is probably early post-

Flood. I have not yet been able to obtain sufficient documentation, so I don't say much

publicly. However, there is evidence that they did in fact perhaps have internal

combustion engines or even jet engines way back then.

Dr. Chittick's revelation that he was already aware of "fossil" spark plugs was startling.Dr. Chittick was asked in a follow-up letter about how he can positively date the Coso

Artifact to the Great Flood since he was already aware of contemporary spark plugs thatappear to be fossilized. In his response on October 23, 1999, he commented:

It has not been my privilege to personally examine the Coso artifact or location and

strata where it was found. There are two reasons I considered the artifact significant.

1. It obviously is a man-made item.

2. Those who evaluated the strata said that it appeared to be old, not modern strata.

Those two items are the principle basis for my conclusion that it was worth study.

Certainly it does merit further study in my judgment. Numerous items like that abound,

but I haven't been able to document them as thoroughly as I would like, and so I don'tsay too much about them.

As noted earlier, the alleged strata where the Coso Artifact was found is unknown sinceall three discoverers had separately searched for geodes all morning beforeconsolidating their collections in a single sack. Even if the exact location wasdiscovered, the artifact was an oxide nodule freely laying on the surface, so the stratawhere the item was discovered is irrelevant.

Once the investigation revealed beyond a reasonable doubt the true origins of theartifact, Dr. Chittick was informed by Pierre Stromberg via postal mail. Dr. Chittick was

warned about the publication of this paper, and was urged to issue a preemptiveretraction as well as paste a disclaimer in his book detailing the Coso Artifact story as


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fallacious. Dr. Chittick never responded and may be still promoting a 1920s-eraChampion spark plug as evidence of advanced technology of the ancient past.

Ken Clark of Spokane's Creation Outreach at first expressed interest in the newdiscoveries. But when he learned that the true identity was a 1920s-era Champion spark

plug and was offered detailed proof, he no longer communicated with the authors of thisarticle. As of May 7, 2000, Creation Outreach continues to promote the spark plug ontheir website as evidence of a technologically advanced ancient civilization.

Conclusion

The Coso Artifact is a remarkable exampleof how creation "science" fails when theassumptions of its theory are implemented ina real life archaeological situation. Young-

earth creationists commonly assume thatalmost all sedimentary layers were depositedduring the Great Flood. Therefore, any itemsclosely associated with such strata must date

back to the time of Noah.

Perhaps the most surprising revelation is the stunningly poor research Dr. Chittickconducted regarding the artifact. Several times he referenced creationist articles thatshould have cast the original claims in extreme doubt. But somehow, he continued to befascinated by the artifact. Anti-creationists familiar with Dr. Chittick will remember a

previous incident with Dr. Chittick. When confronted about his fallacious statements by

Jim Lippard regarding Lucy's knee joint in the mid 1990s, he ignored these warningsand continued to mislead his audiences until confronted in person by Pierre Strombergat the conclusion of a lecture in Seattle. It is possible that Dr. Chittick could be still

promoting the Coso Artifact both in lectures and in his book without acknowledgingany of his private conversations with the authors of this article.

The Coso Artifact was indeed a remarkable device. It was a 1920s-era Champion sparkplug that likely powered a Ford Model T or Model A engine, modified to possibly servemining operations in the Coso mountain range of California. To suggest that it was adevice belonging to an advanced ancient civilization of the past could be interpreted astrue, but is an exaggeration of several thousand years.

Acknowledgments

This paper would not have been possible without the gracious help from the followingindividuals:Chad Windham, Bill Bond, Mike Healy, Jeff Bartheld, Arnie Voigt, Dr. David Q. King,Ken Atkins, Gary L. Bennett, Dr. Alan Bowes, Linda Safarli, Casey Doyle, Paul Cook,and Ross Langerak.

References

Willis, Ronald J. 1969 (Spring). The Coso Artifact. The INFO Journal1(4): 4-13.


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Cook, Joe. 1998 (Summer). Where Did You Get That? The Igniter23(3): 20.

Steiger, Brad. 1974.Mysteries of Time and Space. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Anonymous. 1998 (March-May). Bell-ieve It: Rapid rock formation rings true. Creation

20(2): 6.

Anonymous. 1991 (December-February). Fossil pliers show rock doesn't need millionsof years to form! Creation14(1): 20

Anonymous. 1998 (June-August). Fascinating Fossil Fence-Wire. Creation20(3)

Noorbergen, Rene. 1977. Secrets of the Lost Races. Bobs-Merrill Company.

Steiger, Brad. 1979 (March 4). Were Ancient Scientists Really Tuned to Today?Parade. 9-10

Cronyn, J. M. 1990. The Elements of Archaeological Conservation. Routledge, London.

Anonymous. 1999 (September-November). Sparking interest in rapid rocks. A 'spark-plug fossil' has lessons for long-agers. Creation21(4). 6.

Chittick, Donald E. 1997. The Puzzle of Ancient Man. Precision Graphics, Oregon.

Interesting Links

Joe's UFO and Space Mysterieshttp://members.tripod.com/J_Kidd/index.html

Paradigm Systemshttp://paradigm-sys.com/ae/lib/archeo/nf-electric.html

Phillip Krapf and the Verdantshttp://www.gloryroad.net/~bigjim/Phil_Krapf_Verdants.htm

Creation Outreach, Spokane, Washingtonhttp://www.ior.com/~kjc/pages/strange.htm

Carl Baugh's dissertation mentions the Coso Artifacthttp://home.texoma.net/~linesden/cem/diss/diss2.htm

Whatif?http://byerly.org/whatif.htm

Out Of Place Artifacts (includes x-rays of the Coso Artifact)http://www.eprf.tzo.com/html/spark_plug.html

Times Pasthttp://www.farshore.force9.co.uk/tp_relic.htm


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Legion's Lairehttp://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/5994/page2.html

Paranethttp://www.mm2000.nu/sphinxt.html

UFOLogiahttp://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/3703/update17.html

An account regarding Carl Baugh's OOPARTS Hammerhttp://members.aol.com/paluxy2/hammer.htm

How a spark plug workshttp://www.centuryperformance.com/spark.htm

Federal Mogul - the current parent company of Champion Spark Plugs

http://www.federalmogul.com/

A brief synopsis of Champion's corporate historyhttp://www.championaviation.com/history.htm

Search Ebay and witness the popularity of spark plug collectinghttp://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&HT=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&QUERY=%22Champion+Spark+Plug%22

Joseph Robert Jochmans comments on his participation in Mr. Noorbergen's workhttp://atlantisrising.com/issue7/ar7eters.html

Donald Chittick's pretrial deposition for the Arkansas Balanced Treatment Acthttp://www.aracnet.com/~atheism/writ/berra.htm

Paul Heinrich's home pagehttp://www.intersurf.com/~heinrich/

Pierre Stromberg's home pagehttp://www.eskimo.com/~pierres/

Donald Chittick's Creation Compass websitehttp://sites.onlinemac.com/creationcompass/

The Pacific Northwest Skeptics "Physical Evidence" web page that generated so muchhypehttp://www.eskimo.com/~pierres/coso/cosopreview.html

Other Contacts

For more information on spark plug collecting and how to join the SPCA, pleasecontact:


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Chad WindhamSpark Plug Collectors of America3401 N.E. RiversidePendleton, OR 97801-3431

About the Authors

Pierre Strombergis the founder of Pacific Northwest Skeptics and has been fascinatedby origins research ever since he saw PBS Nova's destructive expose of Erich VonDaniken's "Chariots of the Gods?" decades ago. Since then, he has encouraged agrassroots movement to combat creationism in the Pacific Northwest. When he isn't

battling creationists, Pierre enjoys hearing stories about local hauntings, alienabductions, and UFO sightings. Pierre Stromberg has a B.S. (Manhattan College) in

Computer Science and is currently employed as a software quality assurance manager inRedmond, Washington.

Paul V. Heinrichis a geologist and Research Associate at Louisiana State University.He has a B.S. (Louisiana State Univ.) and M.S. (Univ. of Illinois) in geology and over13 years experience as a geologist. His work experience includes years of research inQuaternary geology, geologic mapping, and archaeological geology. He is a registered

professional geologist in Tennessee (#1373) and Arkansas (#1710). He has beeninterested in the "Wildside of Geoarchaeology" since watching the "Mysterious Originsof Man" in 1996.

mystery from the depths of time

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