The crystal skulls are a number of human skull models fashioned from blocks
of clear or milky quartz crystal rock, claimed to be pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. Contemporary mainstream
scientific opinion is that the skulls are instead of 19th century European
manufacture. None of the specimens made available for scientific study have
been authenticated as pre-Columbian in origin.[1]

The skulls are often claimed to exhibit paranormal phenomena by some members
of the New Age movement, and have often been portrayed as such in fiction,
most notably in the Indiana Jones franchise, including the film Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but also in the season 3
Stargate SG-1 episode "Crystal Skull," and perhaps less well known in Her
Interactive's casual game "Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull".

Contents
[hide]
a.. 1 Crystal skull collections
b.. 2 Research into crystal skull origins
c.. 3 Individual skulls
a.. 3.1 Mitchell-Hedges skull
b.. 3.2 British Museum skull
c.. 3.3 Paris skull
d.. 4 Crystal skulls and the paranormal
e.. 5 See also
f.. 6 Notes
g.. 7 References
h.. 8 External links

[edit] Crystal skull collections
A distinction has been made by some modern researchers between the smaller
bead-sized crystal skulls, which first appear in the mid-19th century, and
the larger (approximately life-sized) skulls that appear toward the end of
that century. The smaller crystal skulls may be actual Mesoamerican beads
that have been carved in modern times into a skull shape; they may even
represent a genuine Mexican Catholic cultural practice, as at least one
example has been found attached to the base of a crucifix (reflecting a
Christian symbolism of Golgotha, the "place of [the] skull"). However, it is
the larger crystal skulls that have attracted nearly all the popular
attention in recent times, and researchers believe these to have been
manufactured as forgeries in Europe.

Trade in fake pre-Columbian artifacts developed during the late 19th century
to the extent that in 1886 Smithsonian archaeologist William Henry Holmes
wrote an article called "'The Trade in Spurious Mexican Antiquities"' for
Science.[2] Although museums acquired skulls earlier, it was Eugène Boban,
an antiquities dealer who opened his shop in Paris in 1870, who is most
associated with 19th-century museum collections of crystal skulls. Most of
Boban's collection, including three crystal skulls, was sold to the
ethnographer Alphonse Pinart, who donated the collection to the Trocadéro
Museum, which later became the Musée de l'Homme.

[edit] Research into crystal skull origins
Many crystal skulls are claimed to be pre-Columbian, usually attributed to
the Aztec or Maya civilizations. Mesoamerican art has numerous
representations of skulls, but these do not share similar stylistic elements
with the crystal skulls, and none of the skulls in museum collections come
from documented excavations.[3] Research carried out on several crystal
skulls at the British Museum in 1996 and again in 2004 has shown that the
indented lines marking the teeth (for these skulls had no separate jawbone,
unlike the Mitchell-Hedges skull) were carved using jeweler's equipment
(rotary tools) developed in the 19th century, making a supposed
pre-Columbian origin even more dubious. The type of (rather poor quality)
crystal is Brazilian, and unknown within the Aztec or Maya territories. The
study concluded that the skulls were crafted in the 19th century in Germany.

It has been established that both the British Museum and Paris' Musée de
l'Homme[4] crystal skulls were originally sold by the French antiquities
dealer Eugène Boban, who was operating in Mexico City between 1860 and
1880.[5] The British Museum crystal skull transited through New York's
Tiffany's, whilst the Musée de l'Homme's crystal skull was donated by
Alphonse Pinart, an ethnographer who had bought it from Boban.

An investigation carried out by the Smithsonian Institution in 1992 on a
crystal skull provided by an anonymous source who claimed to have purchased
it in Mexico City in 1960 and that it was of Aztec origin concluded that it,
too, was made in recent years. According to the Smithsonian, Boban acquired
the crystal skulls he sold from sources in Germany; findings that are in
keeping with those of the British Museum.[6]

[edit] Individual skulls

[edit] Mitchell-Hedges skull
Perhaps the most famous and enigmatic skull was allegedly discovered in 1926
by Anna Le Guillon Mitchell-Hedges, adopted daughter of British adventurer
and popularist author F.A. Mitchell-Hedges.

Anna Hedges claimed that she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar
inside a temple in Lubaantun, in British Honduras, now Belize.[7] As far as
can be ascertained, F.A. Mitchell-Hedges himself made no mention of the
alleged discovery in any of his writings on Lubaantun. Also, others present
at the time of the excavation have not been documented as noting either the
skull's discovery or Anna's presence at the dig.[8]

In a 1970 letter, Anna also stated that she was "told by the few remaining
Maya, and was used by the high priest to will death".[9] The artifact is
sometimes referred to as "The Skull of Doom", either because of its
seemingly inexplicable properties and the supposed ill-luck of those who
have handled it, or perhaps a play on 'Skull of Dunn' (Dunn being an
associate of Mitchell-Hedges). Anna Mitchell-Hedges toured with the skull
from 1967 and continued to give interviews about the artifact until her
death in 2007.

The skull is made from a block of clear quartz about the size of a small
human cranium, measuring some 5 inches (13 cm) high, 7 inches (18 cm) long
and 5 inches wide. The lower jaw is detached. In the early 1970s it came
under the temporary care of freelance art restorer Frank Dorland, who
claimed upon inspecting it that it had been "carved" with total disregard to
the natural crystal axes without the use of metal tools. Dorland reported
being unable to find any tell-tale scratch marks, except for traces of
mechanical grinding on the teeth, and speculated it was first chiseled into
rough form, probably using diamonds, and the finer shaping, grinding and
polishing achieved through the use of sand over a period of 150 to 300
years. Although various claims have been made over the years regarding the
skull's physical properties, such as an allegedly constant temperature of
70°F (21°C), Dorland reported that there was no difference in properties
between it and other natural quartz crystals.[10]

While in Dorland's care the skull came to the attention of writer Richard
Garvin, at the time working at an advertising agency where he supervised
Hewlett-Packard's advertising account. Garvin made arrangements for the
skull to be examined at HP's crystal labs at Santa Clara, where it was
subjected to several tests. The labs determined only that it was not a
composite (as Dorland had supposed), but was fashioned from a single crystal
of quartz.[11] The lab test also established that the lower jaw had been
fashioned from the same left-handed growing crystal as the rest of the
skull.[12] No investigation was made by HP as to its method of manufacture
or dating.[13]

As well as the traces of mechanical grinding on the teeth noted by
Dorland,[14] Mayanist archaeologist Norman Hammond reported that the holes
(presumed to be intended for support pegs) showed signs of being made by
drilling with metal.[15] Anna Mitchell-Hedges refused subsequent requests to
submit the skull to further scientific testing.[16]

F. A. Mitchell-Hedges mentioned the skull only briefly in the first edition
of his autobiography, Danger My Ally (1954), without specifying where or by
whom it was found.[17] He merely claimed that "it is at least 3,600 years
old and according to legend was used by the High Priest of the Maya when
performing esoteric rites. It is said that when he willed death with the
help of the skull, death invariably followed".[18] All subsequent editions
of Danger My Ally omitted mention of the skull entirely.[19]

Eugène Boban, main French dealer in pre-Columbian artefacts during the
second half of the 19th century and probable source of many famous skulls
The earliest published reference to the skull is the July 1936 issue of the
British anthropological journal Man, where it is described as in the
possession of Mr. Sydney Burney, a London art dealer said to have owned it
since 1933.[20] No mention was made of Mitchell-Hedges. There is documentary
evidence that Mitchell-Hedges bought it from Burney in 1944.[21] The skull
was in the custody of Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the adopted daughter of
Frederick. She steadfastly refused to let it be examined by experts (making
very doubtful that claim that it was reported on by R. Stansmore Nutting in
1962). Somewhere between 1988-1990 Anna Mitchell-Hedges toured with the
skull. In her last eight years Anna Mitchell-Hedges lived in Chicago with
Bill Homann. He took care of her until she died on 11th of April, 2007.
Since that time the Mitchell-Hedges Skull has been in the custody of Bill
Homann.

[edit] British Museum skull
The crystal skull of the British Museum first appeared in 1881, in the shop
of the Paris antiquarian, Eugène Boban. Its origin was not stated in his
catalog of the time. He is said to have tried to sell it to Mexico's
national museum as an Aztec artifact, but was unsuccessful. Boban later
moved his business to New York City, where the skull was sold at auction,
and bought by Tiffany and Co., who later sold it at cost to the British
Museum in 1897.[22] This skull is very similar to the Mitchell-Hedges skull,
although it is less detailed and does not have a movable lower jaw.[23]

The British Museum catalogs the skull's provenance as "probably European,
19th century AD"[24] and describes it as "not an authentic pre-Columbian
artifact".[25]

[edit] Paris skull
The largest of Eugène Boban's three skulls (sometimes called the Paris
Skull), about 10cm (3.9in) high, has a hole drilled vertically through its
center. It is part of a collection held at the Musée du Quai Branly, and was
subjected to scientific tests carried out in 2007-08 by France's national
Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (Centre for
Research and Restoration of the Museums in France, or C2RMF). After a series
of analyses carried out over three months, C2RMF engineers concluded that it
was "certainly not pre-Columbian, it shows traces of polishing and abrasion
by modern tools."[26] Particle accelerator tests also revealed occluded
traces of water that were dated to the 19th century, and the Quai Branly
released a statement that the tests "seem to indicate that it was made late
in the 19th century."[27]

[edit] Crystal skulls and the paranormal
People who believe in the psychic power of crystal skulls say that the
skulls are a center of radiant psychic energy and have the power to increase
happiness and improve people's lives just by being held, handled and spoken
with; others have suggested that crystal skulls can be used like crystal
balls, to aid divination.[citation needed]

Claims of the healing and supernatural powers of crystal skulls have no
support in the mainstream scientific community. The scientific community at
large has found no evidence of any unusual phenomena associated with the
skulls nor any reason for further investigation, other than the confirmation
of their provenance and method of manufacture.

[edit] See also
a.. For the Love of God, a diamond-encrusted skull made by artist Damien
Hirst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_skull