Michigan Relics

Record summary

The Michigan Relics were a large group of purported inscribed tablets, artifacts, and objects publicized in the late nineteenth century as evidence of an ancient lost civilization or Old World religious influence in the Great Lakes region. Smithsonian and other investigators criticized many pieces as modern productions, while collectors and religious audiences continued to circulate them. The corpus is valuable for examining forgery networks, amateur archaeology, and the market for biblical or Masonic antiquities. Researchers must distinguish individual objects and their separate chains of custody.