Coso Artifact: Science Triumphs Over Theorists

What if you cracked open a rock that you thought was 500,000 years old and found a perfect mechanical object inside? This is the Coso Artifact, an "out of place artifact" (OPART) that was found in 1961 and unsettled the fields of both archaeology and alternative history. The Coso Artifact was found in what looked like an old Geode, and the metal and ceramic cylinder within led to decades of speculation regarding advanced prehistoric societies and ancient technology. However, recent detailed investigations have eventually concluded that the Coso Artifact was indeed made on Earth, rather than being a remnant of an advanced prehistoric civilization. So how did it become embedded in a seemingly ancient rock?