Crystal Skulls?

The crystal skull at the British Museum

 

Crystal skulls include a number of human skull hardstone carvings often made of clear or milky like quartz, known in art history as “rock crystal”; they are typically allegedly to have been carved or created sometime during the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican era in that region of Central America and southern North America that was occupied by several civilizations, especially the Maya, prior to the arrival of Columbus in 1492.  “Allegedly”, is the key word used by their finders; the results of several studies have demonstrated that most of those examined were manufactured during the mid-19th century or later, and almost certainly in Europe.  However, there have been some claims presented in a variety of popularized literature, containing legends of crystal skulls with mystical powers that do not figure in genuine Mesoamerican or other Native American mythologies and spiritual accounts.

Such skulls are often claimed to exhibit paranormal phenomena by some members of the New Age movement, and have often been portrayed in such light, in fiction. Crystal skulls have been a popular subject appearing in numerous sci-fi movie and TV flicks; in novels, video games and even on a brand of vodka.

In-depth research was carried out on the crystal skull on display at the British Museum of London in 1967, 1996 and again in 2004 which proved conclusively that the indented lines marking the teeth were carved by using jeweler’s equipment (rotary tools) that was developed in the 19th century, thus making a supposed pre-Columbian origin somewhat difficult.  In addition, the type of crystal making up the skull was determined by examination, to be found only in the island Republic of Madagascar or Brazil, and therefore unobtainable or unknown in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The study further concluded that the skull was crafted in the 19th century in Germany, quite likely at one of the workshops in the town of Idar-Oberstein, well-known for crafting objects made from imported Brazilian quartz during the mid to late 19th century.

Tiffany and Company, an American luxury multinational jewelry and silverware corporation, sold the crystal skull currently on display at cost to the British Museum in 1897.  The “Paris Skull” is located in the Quai Branly Museum, nicknamed MQB, a museum in Paris, France and just a few doors beyond the Eiffel Tower; it arrived there sometime around 1898.  The “Smithsonian Skull”, weighs more than 40 pounds and yet it’s hollow inside; it’s located in the collections of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., it was mailed to the Smithsonian Institution in 1992, with a short note claiming by its anonymous donor to be an ancient Aztec object.  In any event all 3 skulls are thought to be no more than 150 years old.

Perhaps the most well-known and puzzling skull was allegedly discovered in 1924 by Ms. Anna Le Guillon Mitchell-Hedges, who was the adopted daughter of British adventurer and author F.A. Mitchel-Hedges. It is the subject of a video documentary made in 1990 titled: “Crystal Skull of Lubaantun”.  Upon detailed examination by Smithsonian researchers, it appears to be “very nearly a replica of the British Museum skull; almost exactly the same shape, but with a lot more detailed modeling of the eyes and especially the teeth.” 

Ms. Mitchel-Hedges claimed that she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar inside a temple in Lubaantun, in the Central American country of British Honduras, which is now Belize. However, as far as can be determined, F.A. Mitchel-Hedges himself made no mention of the alleged discovery in any of his writings on the Lubaantun dig; other folks known to be present at the time of the excavation have not been documented as knowing of the skull’s discovery and to make her story even less credible, they (those individuals known to be on site) apparently have / had no knowledge of Miss Anna’s presence at the dig.

In any event, the Mitchell-Hedges family loaned the skull to Hewlett-Packard Laboratories for extensive study back in 1970. Art restorer Mr. Frank Dorland supervised the testing that took place at the HP Santa Clara, California, computer equipment manufacturer’s site, which also houses a leading facility for crystal research. As you might guess, the HP examinations yielded some startling results.

First, researchers found that the skull had been carved against the natural axis of the crystal. Modern crystal sculptors always take into account the axis, or orientation of the crystal’s molecular symmetry, because if they carve “against the grain,” the piece is bound to shatter; even when lasers and other modern high-tech cutting methods are used.

Second, and to compound the peculiarity, HP found no microscopic scratches on the crystal which would indicate it had been carved with metal instruments. Mr. Dorland’s best theory for the skull’s construction is that it was roughly hewn out with diamonds, and then the detail work was methodically done with a gentle solution of silicon sand and water. This exhausting job;  assuming it could possibly be done at all; would have required man-hours adding up to approximately 300 years to complete.

F. A. Mitchel-Hedges (Miss Anna’s adoptive father) did at least mentioned the skull, but only briefly in the first edition of his autobiography, “Danger My Ally” in 1954, but without specifying where or by whom it was found.   He simply claimed that “it is at least 3,600 years old and according to legend it was used by the High Priest of the Maya when he was performing obscure rites. It is said that when he willed death with the help of the skull, death invariably followed”.  Regardless, in a 1970 letter, Miss Anna stated that she was, “told by the few remaining Maya in British Honduras (Belize) that the skull was used by the high priest to will death.”  For this reason, the artifact / skull is oftentimes referred to as “The Skull of Doom”.  She further claimed that the skull could cause visions and cure cancer; that she once used its magical properties to kill a man and that in another instance, she saw within the Crystal Skull a premonition of the John F. Kennedy assassination.

During her last eight years among the living, Ms. Anna Mitchel-Hedges lived in Chesterton, Indiana, with Bill Homann, whom she married in 2002. She died on April 11, 2007. Since then the Mitchel-Hedges Skull has been in the custody of Bill Homann who reportedly continues to believe in its mystical properties.

Further examples of similar sculpted skulls include a couple called the ‘Mayan Crystal Skull’ and the ‘Amethyst Skull’. They were both discovered in the early 1900s in Guatemala and Mexico, respectively, and were brought to the U.S. by a Mayan priest. The Amethyst Skull is made of purple quartz and the Mayan skull is clear, but the two are otherwise very much alike. As was the Mitchel-Hedges skull, these two sculls were studied at Hewlett-Packard, and they too were found to be mysteriously cut against the axis of the crystal.

A skull known as “Max,”, also known as the ‘Texas Crystal Skull’, is a single-piece, clear skull weighing 18 pounds. It reportedly originated in Guatemala, before winding up in the possession of Ms. JoAnn Parks of Houston, Texas. The Parks family allows visitors to observe Max and they display the skull at various exhibitions across the U.S.

The “ET” Skull is a smoky quartz version that was found in the early 20th Century in Central America. It was given its nickname because its pointed cranium and exaggerated overbite makes it look like it could be the skull of an alien being. ET is part of the private collection of Ms. Joke Van Dieten of Miami, Florida, who tours with several of her skulls to share the healing powers she believes they possess.  Interestingly, Miss Joke credits the skull as instrumental in a personal healing of a brain tumor.

The ‘Brazilian Crystal Skull’ is a 13.8 pound life-size skull donated to the museum’s Section of Minerals by a Brazilian gem dealer in 2004.

The only known crystal skull that comes close to resembling the Mitchel-Hedges skull is one called the ‘Rose Quartz Crystal Skull’, which was reportedly found near the border of Honduras and Guatemala. It is not clear in color, as is indicated by the name, and is slightly larger than the Mitchel-Hedges version, but boasts a comparable level of craftsmanship, including a removable mandible or lower ‘jawbone’.

There is historically unfounded speculation that ties the ‘legend of the crystal skulls’ with the completion of the Maya calendar cycle of December 21, 2012; claiming that only by re-uniting the thirteen (13)  original mystical skulls will it be possible to prevent a calamity allegedly predicted or implied by the ending of the Mayan calendar on the day of the 2012 Winter Solis.

The facts appear to indicate that there are certainly more than 13 of the ‘mystical’ skulls strewn about the planet, some of which have been proven beyond doubt to be far too young to have been used by a Mayan Priest or anyone else during the era we qualify as ancient.   

Archaeologists, historians, antique dealers, librarians, museum curators and many other people often need to date things, and yes there are several ways to accomplish this.  Perhaps the best way of dating an object is ‘provenance’, that’s when you can prove an object has been around a really long time, for example by a dated receipt from ‘Joe’ to ‘Sam’ describing the object; it’s possible to date ships, buildings and other items made of large pieces of wood by ‘dendrochronology’, which involves the ‘growth rings’ found within the timbers used for construction; an experienced archaeologist can usually examine a broken piece of ‘pottery’ and determine the era it was most likely used in; often dating an old photo is done by just by looking at the ‘clothes’ the people are wearing.  Archaeologists and historians alike can often date clothes just by looking at them.

The most popular way for dating really old artifacts, among many, is ‘Carbon dating’. It’s used to determine the age of previously living (organic) remains that are less than about 50,000 years old and has become, you might say, the ‘main stay’ used by archaeologists.  Materials which can be carbon dated include such things as charcoal, wood from buildings and shelters, boats, furniture and wooden tools; leather and animal skins; clothes and textiles such as wool, silk, cotton and linen; animal and human hair; bone; egg shells; mummy wrappings; straw used for packing; parchment and papyrus, among numerous other organic items.

But as previously indicated researchers can only use carbon dating for organic materials less than 50,000 years old. For example if we find a crystal bead necklace we can only date the leather cord, but not the beads.  So, unfortunately as you have already guessed, Crystal Skulls cannot be carbon dated for the most obvious of reasons.

 

Sources:                                                                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_skull                                                                                  http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_6_1.htm                                                                               http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/csartaus.html                                                                         http://www.barrygray.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Tutoring/Carbdat.html