User:Eageyegirl/The Coronado Stone

The Coronado Stone

The Coronado Stone was a pseudoscientific archaeological hoax, also known as pseudoarchaeology, in which a carved fossiliferous limestone rock was presented as evidence of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's 16th century visit to what later became the state of Kansas. The slab was claimed to provide evidence that the Coronado expedition had extended as far as the Missouri River in Atchison County, Kansas. Although belief in this hoax was relatively short-lived, the mystery puzzled numerous experts around the nation. In 1966, a letter admitting the forgery by William "Ralph" Steele was published in the Atchison, Kansas, Globe and the St. Joseph, Missouri, Gazette. Ralph Steele was a resident of Effingham, and later Atchison.

Find and Inscription

In early July 1937, a triangular, slab of limestone of Pennsylvanian age, approximately 19 inches by 10 inches was reported from near Oak Mills, Atchison County, Kansas. It gave the impression of once having been a rectangular rock with an angled break. The original finder of the stone was not initially identified. However, William "Ralph" Steele was the first to possess it. On the surface of what came to be called the "Coronado Stone," was an inscription arranged in six lines. It read, "AGOSTO EL TRE 1541 TOMO POR ESPAÑA QUIVER RANCISCO." The translation presumably read, "I take for Spain, 1541, Quivera, Francisco Vasques de Coronado."

Media Coverage

Steele, a writer by profession, had been employed by the Federal Writers' Project under the Works Progress Administration to write a booklet on points of interest in northeastern Kansas as source material for a state travel guide. Not long after obtaining the "Coronado Stone," Steele contacted The Kansas City Star. Paul I. Wellman, a feature writer for the Star, and Lyle Stephenson, an insurance agent, visited Steele's home the next day to observe the stone, which was located in his yard. Stephenson purchased the stone for four dollars and brought it back to Kansas City.

The initial account of the "Coronado Stone" was featured in The Kansas City Star on July 11, 1937. The story swiftly gained traction and was hastily disseminated by the Associated Press, reaching other newspapers across the nation. Shortly thereafter, experts from the Smithsonian Institute, college professors, and local historians all began to study drawings and photos of the artifact closely. Historians at that time had gathered significant evidence that Coronado had only traveled as far north as the present location of Lindsborg, Kansas. Therefore, it did not take long for numerous questions to arise.

Exposure as a Hoax

Among the many questions, there was a suspicion as to the use of a horseshoe-shaped letter "U". At the period in which the stone would have been carved, the Spanish curved the bottom of lower case u's but upper-case U's were written to look like an English upper-case letter V. Smithsonian experts noted additional discrepancies, such as the spelling of "Quivera" instead of "Quivira." There was also a notable difference in the writing out of Coronado's first name compared to the abbreviation "Fran" that he frequently used in his letters. Kirk Mechem, the acting Secretary of the Kansas Historical Society, voiced several reservations, pointing out that the capital letters resembled modern print rather than 16th-century script. He also observed that the word usage appeared more like a translation from English into Spanish rather than something written in Spanish over 400 years ago.

While the authenticity was still unknown, Steele wrote to The Kansas City Star on July 22, 1937, saying, "I am almost not quite sorry that I found the much disputed 'Coronado Stone'. I enjoy in a mean sort of way, the row it kicked up among writers, historians, geologists, and archaeologists."

A notable group of historians and archaeologists, including Waldo Wedel, Kirke Mechem, Paul Wellman, Alexander Wetmore, and Loren Eiseley, offered their insights on the discovery before the Smithsonian Institution ultimately determined that the stone had no connection with Coronado.

On August 13, 1937, the Smithsonian stated that after investigating a photo of the "Coronado Stone," they were convinced that the stone was, "Of highly doubtful authenticity." In response to the Smithsonian's request, the Stone was dispatched to their location for an in-person examination. Their consensus did not change, and it was returned to the owner Lyle Stephenson. No verifiable explanation exists regarding the whereabouts of this stone after its return to Stephenson.

How the Hoax Made History

Published sometime later in the St. Joseph, Missouri, Gazette, as well as the Atchison, Kansas, Globe, Ralph Steele wrote of his fabricated tale of the "Coronado Stone." During his breakfast coffee, Steele found amusement in an article revealing that the esteemed scientists had declared the long-famous Piltdown Man to be a forgery. Feeling a humorous connection to the story, he recounted the shared sentiment he had as a practical joker. Steele writes, "It reminded me of the time I dug up the 'Coronado Stone' down by Oak Mills, Kansas, and then almost ran myself silly trying to 'bury' it again." He asserted that it all began as a quest for amusement when he sought something interesting to write about. Challenged by a friend to outdo him in creating a hoax, Steele confessed that he took a detour on his way home one evening. There, he picked up a promising-looking rock and proceeded to carve the renowned lines with a hammer and chisel. To lend it an aged appearance, he bounced the rock up and down in a mud puddle a few times. Steele claims that the story had hardly hit the Star's top editor's desk when his phone began to ring. The following day, a carload of "archaeologists" arrived at his front door, and the news spread even faster than he had ever imagined.

Stelle, afraid confess to the The Kansas City Star, kept the secret concealed. Once they heard that there was a discussion about the need to alter history textbooks regarding Coronado's visit to Kansas, Steele's wife convinced him to come clean. Steele confesses, "Did anyone laugh? They did not! They dropped my rock like a hot potato, and they hate me to pieces."

Brief Life History of William "Ralph" Steele

William Ralph Steele was born on September 15, 1910, in Morrill, Brown County, Kansas, United States. His father, Delbert Hays Steele, was 32, and his mother, Louise Winona Furman, was 32 when he was born. He married Lillian Mae Nickels on August 20, 1930. They were the parents of at least 5 daughters. He lived in Effingham, Atchison County, Kansas. He registered for military service in 1946. He died on June 9, 1986, in Atchison, Kansas at the age of 75, and was buried in Atchison, Atchison County, Kansas, United States.

See Also

Grave Creek Stone

Loss Lunas Decalogue Stone

Newark Holy Stone

Archaeological Forgeries