Crystal Skulls: Unraveling the Secrets of Ancient Data Storage Technology?

I vividly remember the year 2012. That year the world did not end. I was lying in an inflatable pool, those smaller ones probably meant for kids, with a cocktail in one hand, on December 21st 2012, patiently waiting for the world to end spectacularly. Would it be a global earthquake?

Or perhaps lots of small disasters across the world, all occurring within hours of each other? Or would we simply cease to exist? The possibilities were endless. However, I was sorely disappointed.

December 22nd, 2012, dawned and with it, a bad hangover and a nasty sunburn. To any of our viewers wishing to travel to sunny South Africa – sunscreen is your best friend. Just make a note of that.

But, let’s get back to the end of the world. Or rather, the distinct lack of it. For, after 2012, the world just continued onwards. So what went wrong, or right depending on your point of view? How did we go from a promised world ending catastrophe to three more Star Wars movies? The blame belongs squarely on the craniums of 13 crystal skulls. Well, the blame for the world not ending; can’t really blame them for Star Wars.

For, according to Mayan legend, though to be honest, I haven’t actually managed to find this legend in the Mayan mythologies, the ancients were given 13 crystal skulls. These skulls were then dispersed all over the globe to be reunited in the time of mankind’s greatest need. 12 of these skulls were about human sized and contained information about 12 planets inhabited by other human-like peoples. The 13th skull was bigger, acting like a centre of consciousness, and, if the 12 skulls were placed in a circle with the 13th in the middle, amazing truths and wisdom would be revealed.

Reuniting the skulls would also save the world from its impending end prophesized by the Mayan calendar. So, did someone finally reunite the 13 crystal skulls and, in so doing, save us from annihilation, or is this just an elaborate 200 year old hoax? Let’s follow in the footsteps of everyone’s least favourite Indiana Jones movie and explore the mysteries of the Crystal Skull.

So Many Skulls

Even though we keep calling them Crystal Skulls, the skulls aren’t actually made of crystal. The life-size skulls found in museums and a handful of private collections are mostly clear rock quartz. The remaining hundreds, if not thousands that you can find for sale on eBay, could be quartz, glass, or even resin, depending on your forger of choice.

Perfect human and animal skulls are also carved from practically any gemstone that can be carved; I’m quite fond of the rose quartz and tiger eye skulls. After doing my research for this script, the Google goblin has decided that I’m now into crystal healing, so sadly the ads popping up on my Facebook feed have improved.

According to crystal healers, different gemstones have the ability to manifest intentions and raise vibrations. I’m not sure what that actually means. By carving various gemstones into skulls, you can amplify the existing powers of the stone which is why so many of these skulls are used for healing. The vibrational energy emitted by the skulls is also similar to the electromagnetic waves of the human brain.

This leads to enhanced psychic abilities in people spending any amount of time around these skulls, and makes them a popular tool for meditation. Seeing auras, visions, or hearing sounds like the chimes of bells is apparently not uncommon.

Of course, the big boys, or skulls I suppose, in the skull business, aren’t all that accessible. They’re held in museums and while some held in private collections are taken on publicity tours to meet and heal people, this mostly happens in the US. So what is a skull-lover elsewhere in the world to do? Have no fear - crystal skulls can be programmed.

Placing new skulls in the vicinity of one of the ancient skulls allows the new skull to absorb some of the ancient dude’s knowledge and healing abilities. So you don’t have to go to Max in Texas; Max’s energy will come to you via one of many helpful online crystal skull shops.

But it’s not just mumbo jumbo – there’s some science involved. You see, quartz has piezoelectric properties. Basically, it has the ability to generate an electronic charge when subjected to mechanical stress. This is part of the reason why quartz is used to manufacture electronic devices – especially storage devices and computer chips.

Believers claim that crystal skulls are essentially data storage devices storing knowledge from ancient civilizations like, you guessed it, Atlantis, or from beyond the stars; the Pleiades star system is a favourite. Ancient man somehow knew all about the data storage potential of quartz; I’m wondering if they figured that out before or after they invented the wheel. All we need is to find a way to read these massive computer chips and all manner of wisdom will be revealed to us.

I’m sure you’ve picked up on a trend – words like electromagnetic waves, piezoelectric properties, storage devices and computer chips show up quite a lot in online skull literature. It’s almost like someone is trying really hard to sound academic. I could write several more pages about the psychic abilities of the skulls, but I think we all get the idea. Them skulls are magical!

But if the tales of Mayan myths aren’t true, where did the stories of the skulls come from? Let’s visit Lubaantun in Belize, planet earth, and find out.

The Mitchell-Hedges Skull

There are many crystal skulls, but the Mitchell-Hedges skull is the one most people picture when crystal skulls are mentioned. The Skull of Doom or, more recently, the Skull of Love, a skull needs to adapt to the times after all, stands about 17.4 cm (6.8 inches) high and weighs around 5kg (11 pounds). It’s carved from a single block of clear quarts with a detachable jaw. Like most skulls it has psychic powers and does some healing on the side, but unlike other skulls, its life story is well documented and filled with excitement and intrigue!

It all started in 1924 when Frederick Mitchell-Hedges and his companions arrived at the ancient Mayan site of Lubaantun, “the place of the fallen stones”, in Belize. The site possibly got its name from earlier excavations done by Thomas Gann whose preferred archaeological method was dynamite. Mitchell-Hedges was an old-school adventurer.

He had money, or at least people with money backing his exploits, and he had a Sunday evening radio show to share his adventures with the world at large. Apparently, he was a reporter but, according to Mitchell-Hedges himself, he was oh so much more. He claimed that while in South America, he had been captured by Pancho Villa, a Mexican revolutionary general, and he had worked as a spy for the British secret service, spying on none other than Trotsky himself.

He had discovered lost tribes and lost cities all over South America – including Atlantis of course. The fact that these tribes and cities were already documented before he ‘found’ them was pure coincidence, I’m sure.

In his book, Danger My Ally, published in 1954, Mitchell-Hedges claimed the skull was at least 3600 years old and was used by the High Priest of the Maya. Apparently, the High Priest could use the skull to will death on anyone, and death would inevitably follow. He stated that the skull had been described as the embodiment of evil and claimed that ‘several people who have cynically laughed at it have died, others have been stricken and become seriously ill.’ So, when you laugh, make sure it’s not done cynically. He didn’t actually state where he found the skull, instead claiming he had a reason not to reveal how the skull came into his possession. Apparently, the 1955 edition of the book omitted this reference to the skull completely. Some speculate that Mitchell-Hedges was a secret agent and, therefore, couldn’t divulge how and where he found the skull. However, it’s more likely that it was omitted since there were still a few people around who could contradict his claims, but we’ll get to that little detail soon.

After Mitchell-Hedges’ death, however, the story changed when his daughter, Anna Mitchell-Hedges, claimed that she had been the one to find the skull inside a pyramid during their expedition to Belize in the 1920s. She found the skull after the expedition cleared away a heavy wall which had fallen on an altar. Since they didn’t have the right equipment, they could only move around 5 to 6 stones a day. It took three months before they found the jaw which was about 22m (25 yards) away from the skull.

In 1964, Anna signed a contract with Frank Dorland, a San Francisco art dealer, to promote the skull with the goal of eventually selling it for at least $50 000 or more. In letters between Anna and Frederick Dockstader, then Director of the Museum of the American Indian in New York City, Anna claimed the skull was over 3 600 years old. After having some tests done, she stated that the skull, at this point referred to as the Mayan Skull of Divine Mystery, was at least 3000 years old.

Apparently, the British Museum told her so; however, there’s no record that the British Museum said anything of the kind. Anna claimed to have found the skull in 1928 and mentioned the skull’s special powers – among these were the ‘evil eye’ and ‘protection from heaven’. The skull could defeat the evils of witchcraft, and she described it as ‘a benevolent divine magic dealing with heaven and angelic forces’.

This seems to be a bit of a contradiction with the Skull of Doom used to will people to death, but perhaps the skull had a change of heart. By this time, everyone who had been on the expedition to Lubaantun when the skull was found had passed on, so there was no-one to challenge any claims made by Anna Mitchell-Hedges.

In 1970, Frank Dorland had the skull examined by the Hewlett-Packard lab in Santa Clara, California. Since HP made crystal oscillators, their laboratory was well equipped to test quartz. Apparently, the lab made a number of interesting finds.

Firstly, the lab determined that the skull was carved from a single crystal of quartz, rather than the three separate pieces as Dorland originally thought. They also thought the skull would’ve taken a very long time to make, possibly as much as 300 years. The skull had been carved against the natural axis of the crystal which Dorland claimed was unusual as it could cause the piece to shatter though I’m not sure how true this is.

One of the researchers dramatically claimed “The damn thing shouldn’t even be”. HP apparently couldn’t find any microscopic scratches or marks indicating modern metal instruments, and came to the conclusion that the skull was indeed ancient and carved with ancient tools and technologies. It all sounds very impressive, but, unfortunately, it appears that HP has no records of these tests being performed.

Dorland was not just an art dealer, he was also an art restorer, and to me it seems that he had some suspicions about the skull himself. At one point, he stated that the teeth showed clear signs of mechanical grinding. He had also worked with crystal in the past and apparently once mentioned that he could probably finish a job like the crystal skull in two years with the necessary financing, though I couldn’t find any other sources to verify this statement.

Dorland admitted that it wasn’t possible to prove without a doubt whether the skull was indeed ancient or whether it had been made in modern times. He later tried to backtrack a little by claiming the grinding on the teeth and the jawbone being removed probably happened when the ancient skull was cleaned or modified in more recent times. At the end of the day, Dorland was trying to sell the skull for $50 000, and presenting the skull as an ancient artefact was probably the best way to do it.

However, Anna and Dorland soon had a falling out. He had yet to find a buyer, and the tales put out there as part of his promotion became wilder and wilder. Dorland claimed that the skull emits sounds and lights depending on the position of the planets; he also stated that the skull was excellent for scrying, that it originated in Atlantis, and was even taken by the Knights Templar on their crusades. He claimed seeing images of ancient buildings when looking into the eye sockets. In one tale, Dorland insisted that he heard a jungle cat prowling around his house when the skull was spending the night. However, the tall tales didn’t concern Anna as much as the rumours that Dorland actually owned the skull. At this point, Dorland suggested a new approach. Instead of selling the skull, Anna would collaborate with Richard Garvin on a book about it. She would then make public appearances with the skull to drum up interest and boost sales. In 1972 and 1973, the skull was exhibited in New York which just made the whole story seem even more legitimate, and The Crystal Skull was finally published in 1973. Anna Mitchell-Hedges’ career as the care-taker of a mythical artefact was well underway and would continue until her death.

According to The Crystal Skull, the skull was found in the Lubaantun Tomb, part of the ruins of an enormous Mayan Citadel, in 1927. Those of you paying attention to dates probably noticed something by now. Apparently, Anna couldn’t quite remember when she had originally found the skull – it was either in 1924, 1926, 1927, or 1928. However, in January of 1927, her father was in Bournemouth, nowhere near any Mayan temples, and in 1928 he was involved in a much publicized libel trial against the Daily Express. So, after much confusion and I’m guessing a fair bit of research to find a date that couldn’t be contested too easily, Anna decided that she had discovered the skull on the 1st January 1924, her 17th birthday. It coincides with at least one of two definite trips her father took to Lubaantun in the company of Lady Richmond Brown. There doesn’t seem to be any record of Anna accompanying them, but there also wasn’t anyone around anymore to say that she wasn’t there. I don’t remember all my birthdays, but if I had made a significant archaeological discovery on my 17th birthday, I’m sure that’s something I would’ve remembered.

However, there’s a bit of a problem with the story told by Mitchell-Hedges and his daughter, for the skull made its first appearance in London in 1933, but it was not in the hands of Mitchell-Hedges. The skull belonged to a man called Sidney Burney, a London art dealer. Burney had taken the skull to the British Museum for study.

An article written by G.M. Morant details the skull and even compares it to the Aztec crystal skull in the British Museum’s collection. The one difference was the lower jaw of the Mitchell-Hedges skull being detachable while the Aztec skull is one piece.

According to Burney, his skull had come from an unknown source in Mexico early in 1933. A young archaeologist, Adrian Digby, working at the British Museum at the time, suggested that Burney’s skull appeared to be a composite copy – the proportions of the skull was probably copied from the skull already in the museum’s collection while the anatomical detail was likely copied from a skull owned by the original carver. In his mind, Burney’s skull, later the Mitchell-Hedges skull, was possibly an attempted forgery of the skull in the British museum.

So how did Burney’s skull end up in the hands of Mitchell-Hedges? Well, from 1933 to 1943, Burney was trying to find a buyer for the skull. The British museum already had a skull and wasn’t interested in adding another skull to its collection.

Finally, on 15 October 1943, the skull was sold on auction at Sotheby’s in London to British journalist F.A. Mitchell-Hedges for 400 pounds. In December of 1943, Mitchell-Hedges wrote a letter to his brother telling him all about the purchase.

He stated that he bought the Crystal Skull from the “Sydney Burney Collection” and that is was carved from transparent rock crystal, life size, and that, according to scientists, the skull dated at pre-1800 BCE. Where he got this date from, only he would know. These fictional scientists also claimed that the skull was a multi-generational project that was passed from father to son and probably took five generations to complete.

However, six years later, in a local newspaper article published in May 1949, Mitchell-Hedges was telling the world that he’d found the skull in Belize, not a show room in London, and he stuck to that story until he died in 1959 and the skull was inherited by his daughter, Anna. Of course, Anna had an excuse ready. She claimed that she had discovered the skull during the expedition.

Her father then left the skull with Sidney Burney as collateral for money borrowed for another expedition to Lubaantun. However, Burney’s son put the skull on auction. The easiest way for her father to reclaim the skull was to buy it at the auction.

Personally, I would’ve called the cops, but that’s just me. However, this doesn’t explain why her father then wrote a letter to his brother stating that he had bought the skull from the Burney Collection. When asked if she had any evidence, Anna replied that all her father’s papers and photographs were lost in Hatteras during a cyclone, and a trunk of his belongings was lost in Plymouth.

How convenient… I mean unfortunate.

After Anna Mitchell-Hedges passed away in April 2007, the skull passed to her widower, Bill Homann, who allowed Dr Jane Walsh at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History to examine the skull in November of 2007. Dr Walsh, an expert on the crystal skulls, finally had the opportunity to study the most famous of skulls. She took two sets of silicone moulds and studied the moulds using a scanning electron microscope which allowed her to study the tool marks without risking any damage to the skull itself.

Lubaantun was abandoned around 800 BCE, so if the skull is indeed from Lubaantun, it would’ve been carved using sharpened stone implements and abrasive sand. There’s no archaeological evidence suggesting that pre-Columbian cultures used hard metal tools, like iron or steel, for cutting or drilling, nor is there any indication of any kind of wheeled or rotary technology. A sharpened stone being pushed across a hard material, like quartz, would leave a rough line, possibly with slight twisting.

Walsh and her team compared the tool marks on a jadeite artefact discovered at an excavation and the tool marks on a piece of jadeite cut with diamond coated, high speed rotary cutting tools. The tool marks on the Mitchell-Hedges skull is similar to the marks on the jadeite piece cut with modern tools. Polished areas also show parallel lines with what Walsh describes as a skipping pattern, suggesting the use of a high-speed tool.

Dr Walsh came to the conclusion that the Mitchell-Hedges skull was a modern creation, not an ancient pre-Columbian Aztec one, created with technology from the 20th century at the earliest. The British Museum skull, which we’ll look at shortly, was on exhibit from 1898, and since the Mitchell-Hedges skull only appeared in 1933, Walsh agrees with Digby that the Mitchell-Hedges skull is most likely a copy of the skull in the British Museum. Forensic artist, Gloria Nusse, used facial reconstruction techniques to create an image of what the actual person might’ve looked like.

The final product appeared to be a female with European features further proving that the Mitchell-Hedges skull and probably the British Museum skull were created in Europe using an actual skull as a model. However, the actual creator of the skull is a mystery. Eugene Boban, a big name in the skull game, had been dead for more than two decades by the time the skull appeared so, in this one instance, he might be innocent!

The Smithsonian Skull

In 1992, a mysterious package arrived at the National Museum of American History that forms part of the Smithsonian Institute from an anonymous donor. The package, it turned out, contained a crystal skull. The anonymous donor claimed that they bought it in Mexico in 1960 and that the skull was Aztec in origin. The donor also claimed that the skull had previously been owned by Porfirio Diaz, the Mexican President who served 7 terms.

The skull is carved from white quartz and is larger than life size weighing in at 14 kg (31 pounds) and standing 25 cm (10 inches) tall. Unlike the other known skulls, it’s not a solid skull – the cranium is hollow.

However, Dr Walsh was not convinced. According to Dr Walsh herself, the skull just didn’t look right. It was too big, the proportions were off, and it just looked too polished.

Intrigued by the skull but doubtful about its supposed origin, she set about the task of determining authenticity and this is where the whole myth started falling apart. Examination of the skull showed two basic types of tool marks. The first were fine, curvilinear, parallel striations suggesting the use of abrasives used with rotary wheels or pads.

The second type of tool marks was coarser, single striations. Inside the cavity, a small deposit of black and red material was found. Using X-Ray Powder Diffraction, a method used to identify crystalline substances, she determined that the material was silicon carbide or carborundum.

Natural deposits of carborundum are incredibly rare; however, in the 19th century it was synthesized and became a common abrasive used for lapidary work, the carving of precious and semi-precious stones. All this research led Walsh to believe that the skull was most likely made in Mexico shortly before it was sold, probably in the 1950s, to the anonymous donor as the technology used to polish the crystal only became available after World War II; thus, not an ancient skull.

British Museum Crystal Skull

In 1898, the British Museum picked up a crystal skull from Tiffany’s in New York City. The skull is also made from clear quartz and is closer to life size than some of the other skulls measuring 15 cm (6 inches) chin to top and 12 cm (5 inches) from ear to ear. The museum believed that they were buying a genuine pre-Columbian artefact – but this wasn’t quite the case.

It turned out that the original source of the skull had been one Eugene Boban. You see, in 1881, Boban had tried to sell the skull to a museum in Mexico, but the folks in charge of acquisitions weren’t biting, so he sold it to George Sisson in New York instead. In 1887, the skull was part of an exhibition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science before being sold to Tiffany and Co.

George F Kunz, who facilitated the sale to the British Museum, wrote a letter to the Keeper of the Department of British & Medieval Antiquities & Ethnography for the British Museum, that’s a mouthful, in which he claimed that the skull was brought from Mexico by a Spanish officer some time before the French occupation of Mexico. The skull was then sold to an English collector and, after the death of the collector, ended up in the possession of Boban, who then sold it to George Sisson in 1886.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, the skull was dusted off for more detailed studies and researchers confirmed again that it was very similar to the Mitchell-Hedges skull. However, since many believe the Mitchell-Hedges skull is a copy of this skull, that’s not surprising. Ian Freestone, former head of the museum’s scientific research, and his team made dental resin casts of the skull’s surface and studied them with a scanning electron microscope.

Much like the Smithsonian skull, the team found marks that indicated some kind of rotary tool was used to carve the skull. Since this technique was only introduced in the Americas after the arrival of the Europeans, the skull is most definitely not pre-Columbian. In fact, it’s quite clearly post-Columbian.

In 2007, microscopic analysis showed tiny, green crystals that tuned out to be iron-rich chlorites indicating only three possible places of origin of the quartz: Brazil, Madagascar, or the European Alps – nowhere near Aztec country. Freestone concluded that the skull was most likely made from a Brazilian crystal and the cutting and polishing probably occurred in 19th century Europe, possibly Germany, as the rotating wheel was a common tool used in jewellery houses at the time. For those who want to see it, the skull is still on display in the British museum; however, instead of being considered a Mesoamerican artefact, it’s identified as probably European, late 19th century.

The Paris Skull

Once again, we meet up with our old friend Eugene Boban, the original owner of the Paris Skull. The smallest of the museum skulls, the skull currently housed in the Musee du Quai Branly only measures around 10cm (4 inches) from chin to top. Boban sold the skull to a young Alphonse Pinart, French collector and explorer, in 1875 who donated it to the museum in 1878.

What makes this skull unique is the hole drilled through the centre. A smaller skull, held in a private collection, also has a hole drilled through the centre and was used as the base of a crucifix, so there’s some speculation that the Paris skull might’ve had a similar use. After some researchers got their hands on it around 2007 to 2008, they concluded that it couldn’t be a pre-Columbian artefact – based on tool markings found on the skull, it had been made with modern tools.

Using a particle accelerator, they discovered traces of water that could be dated to the 1800s suggesting the skull was carved between 1867 and 1875 when it was sold. The Paris skull at one time was claimed to represent Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the dead, but, oddly, doesn’t seem to have any occult powers. Apparently representing the god of the dead is occult enough.

Of course, when it became apparent that money could be made, more skulls started appearing in private collections all over the world.

Max – the gift to mankind

Max currently resides in Texas, and, as all things Texan, is considered the largest of the ancient crystal skulls. At 36 000 years, I’m guessing he might be the oldest too. According to the owner, JoAnn Parks, she received the skull from a Tibetan Healer, Norbu Chen, around 1973, but other claims suggest that the skull was found in a tomb in Guatemala, somewhere between 1924 and 1926. Conveniently, there are no records of this extraordinary find.

Parks claims that, unaware of the value of the skull, she kept it in a closet from 1980 to 1987 during which time Max communicated with her – in her dreams. It was only after seeing a program on TV about UFOs and the Mitchell-Hedges skull, I’m assuming a predecessor to a certain series about aliens that are ancient, that she suddenly realized just what she had. I’m guessing a faulty carbon monoxide detector, but that’s just me. She had the skull examined by an expert, though I couldn’t find a name or the nature of their expertise, and the expert determined that Max was indeed an ancient skull.

According to Max, he’s from the Pleiades star system originally, but spent some time in Atlantis. Clearly, he’s a traveller at heart. Parks claims that Max is a teacher meant to bring people together and guide them to reach a Oneness, whatever that means. Apparently, people spending time with good ole Max start having visions of other planets, they feel healing, and they become inspired creatively.

So that’s what my creative career has been missing – a crystal skull. Glad I solved that problem so early in the New Year.

More skulls appeared with a range of exotic names: Sha Na Ra, E.T. Amar, Ami, the Mayan skull, the Amethyst Skull, Rainbow, and Compassion to name a few. Apparently, they all enjoy long walks on the beaches of Atlantis, spent time in closets and storerooms from Tibet to America to Africa, and spend their time nowadays healing people and showing people visions.

Some claim all 13 of the skulls from Mayan mythology have been found while others state that we’ve only found 8 so far. In that case, it’s lucky we only needed 8 to avert the apocalypse. While the museum skulls and the Mitchell-Hedges skull have been researched quite thoroughly, the same isn’t true for the many skulls in private collections.

A few articles claim that Dr Walsh or the British Museum tested some of these skulls but refused to make their findings known, apparently suggesting the skulls were, in fact, ancient or alien or both. This is simply not true.

The truth of the skulls

Many crystal skull followers still believe that the skulls are pre-Columbian artefacts created by either the Aztec or the Maya. However, not a single crystal skull has ever been found at an official, documented excavation. You see, other than sunstroke, insect bites, and cursed artefacts, archaeological digs generate a lot of paperwork.

True, digs in the 1800s and early 1900s were less circumspect in how they approached things, but if the skulls were really such an important part of ancient cultures, more skulls should’ve been found once archaeology developed into a science with tons of documentation. On top of that, the skulls have very little, if any, stylistic similarities to actual Aztec and Mayan depictions of skulls, and the techniques used to make them are very different to the methods used to create authentic pre-Columbian artefacts. In short, I feel the theory of the skulls being of Mesoamerican origin has been thoroughly disproven.

What the more outlandish theories lack in scientific proof, they really make up for with creativity. Aliens visited pre-Columbian societies and decided to leave some crystal skulls behind. An expert, and I use this term in its loosest possible sense, believes that aliens placed these skulls on the intersection of vortex lines – places with powerful gravitational energy all over the world.

The pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge are also built on these lines. And don’t forget the moon! Apparently, the ruins of crystalline structures, like domes and spires, can be found on the moon.

A photo presumably taken during the moon landing shows what appears to be a skull in a crater on the moon, possibly belonging to an artificial being; perhaps its brain or computer is stored in the skull. If the astronauts ever found something like that, they’ve neglected to mention it so far. Some stories claim the skulls were kept in a pyramid-shape object of great power called an ark.

Other legends state that when the Great Flood occurred, the 13 skulls were stored safely on an ark – not sure whether this was Noah’s ark or some different ark – and once the storms had passed, the skulls were dispersed across the world. According to secret Tibetan records – because everything supernatural is being hidden in Tibet – the skulls date back over 900 000 years, and is not of this world. In short, it appears that the believers are trying to incorporate every possible myth and religious belief into one package.

The skulls are not alien, and they’re not Mesoamerican. So, where do they come from and who made them? The truth is, we don’t know.

Crystal quartz can’t be carbon dated. However, even if it could, the quartz itself is probably thousands of years old, but that doesn’t mean the skulls are thousands of years old. So, in this case, dating the crystal itself isn’t going to give us any clues as to the origin of the skulls. We’re going to have to follow some other clues. One of those clues is a name you’ve heard a few times by now: Eugene Boban.

Eugene Boban was born in 1834 in France. Apparently, Boban first arrived in Mexico in his teenage years and spent much of his time collecting exotic birds and going on archaeological expeditions. It doesn’t seem that Boban had any actual training as an archaeologist, but back then a qualification wasn’t really a requirement to go dig up ancient sites. From the sources I read, it appears that Boban genuinely loved Mexico and its culture.

He became fluent in both Spanish and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and worked as a member of the French Scientific Commission in Mexico for a while. He seemed to have a real interest in archaeology and became a collector of antiquities. Eventually, he made his living by selling artefacts and natural history specimens in Mexico City.

Boban once claimed that many of the antiquities he owned and sold had been in the cabinet of Maximillian, Austrian archduke and leader of the second Mexican Empire until his execution. Many of Boban’s artefacts were genuine, pre-Columbian pieces, historical documents, and rare manuscripts. However, he also sold his fair share of less-than-authentic pre-Columbian artefacts. If you wanted a really good fake, Boban was your man.

However, he was smart about it, and according to Dr Walsh, who wrote an entire book about him, he had an anthropological interest in fakes; he knew who made the fakes and was quite vocal about the fact that there were many fakes being sold. He even exhibited some of these fakes, claiming that he wanted to unmask them. This gave him the credibility he needed to convince his buyers that he was an honest collector only selling the real deal.

Many museums were aware that not all of their artefacts were genuine but they didn’t know enough about Aztec culture yet to be able to tell the genuine articles from the fakes. Boban, claiming to be an expert, graciously offered to help out where he could. William Henry Holmes of the Smithsonian who studied collections in both the US and Mexico found many fake artefacts and became suspicious of Boban but never straight up accused him of being a trader in fake antiquities.

Another contemporary of Boban’s, Wilson Wilberforce Blake, had no problem at all accusing Boban of selling fakes. However, as one article pointed out, Blake was trying to get rid of his competition, so accusing Boban of being a fraud could just have been a smart business decision.

Based on documentation found by Dr Walsh, we know that Boban sold at least two crystal skulls. The one ended up in the British museum while the other ended up in the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris. We don’t know if he was behind the Mitchell-Hedges skull. There is nothing to prove that he was, so I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt. As for where he got the skulls, there are some theories.

One theory places the origin of the skulls in Idar-Oberstein in Germany. It was a centre for jewellers and craftsmen, and in the 1870s, a shipment of quartz crystal arrived from Brazil. This crystal would’ve been carved into all kinds of things – possibly even skulls. We know one skull was already on the market in 1875, after the delivery of the quartz. However, there’s no definitive proof that Boban himself either commissioned or bought crystal skulls from the jewellers in Germany.

Another theory suggests that the skulls are from Mexico, they’re simply not Aztec. The very earliest crystal skull appeared to be small, around 2.5 cm (1 inch) tall, and was exhibited by the British museum. The skull had been bought from a British banker, Henry Christy, in 1856.

This little skull, and others like it, had a hole drilled through it from top to bottom. Dr Walsh pointed out that these skulls, most no taller than 6 cm (1.5 inches) currently in museums and private collections were possibly re-carved ancient Mesoamerican beads. Europe had the whole memento mori thing going on at the time, so skulls would’ve been quite fashionable.

On top of that, Europeans knew very little of the Aztec culture and customs other than their fondness for human sacrifice, so the idea of skulls being an authentic artefact would’ve seemed plausible. These fake relics carved from actual relics were then sold to ‘relic shops’ in Mexico city doing a roaring trade in fake pre-Columbian artefacts. Foreigners arriving in the country after Mexico’s independence created the demand.

The local artisans simply gave the foreigners what they wanted. Whether the original creators of the fake artefacts sold them as authentic is unclear. At the time, aging Christian churches in Mexico were also being torn down.

It’s plausible that any skulls, especially ones with holes drilled in them to hold a crucifix, was being removed and sold to collectors or treasure hunters. If the small skulls were originally beads, this would be an interesting case of an actual artefact being repurposed to create a fake artefact that was more appealing to collectors.

Did Eugene Boban plan the deceit of the crystal skulls, or was he himself a victim of it? In a newspaper article published in the 1900s, Boban stated that a lot of supposedly pre-Columbian, rock-crystal skulls available for sale have been made so expertly that they could pass as originals fooling even experts. Many have used this quote to prove that he was in on the scam, but I’m not convinced.

He knew there were a lot of forgeries; he even sold some of them. I think it’s plausible that either he himself was fooled by the skulls thinking them originals, or he believed that there were ancient pre-Columbian skulls and he simply sold forgeries of an artefact he believed was real even though he had never actually seen an original skull. Some pointed out that Boban’s skulls went on sale at a time when Teotihuacan, a large archaeological complex north-east of Mexico City, was being excavated.

It seems that this particular site has been excavated on and off since the 1700s by people with varying degrees of qualification, skill, and intent, and since Boban didn’t exactly take the time to dig out every artefact he sold himself, it’s possible he bought the skulls from less than honourable diggers. The Aztec culture was full of skulls – you can see it everywhere in their artwork – so while Boban certainly perpetuated the fairy tale, I’m not entirely convinced that he intentionally created it.

Conclusion

Despite science stepping in and proving that the skulls were most likely not Mesoamerican artefacts, there are still firm believers. According to the late Dr McEwan, at the time director of pre-Columbian studies at the British Museum, the museum received extensive petitions claiming that the skull has been imprisoned and is being prevented from fulfilling its final destiny, whatever that might be. Dr Freestone also pointed out that it would be near impossible to convince believers that the skull is fake as there’s no way to prove when the tool markings on the skulls were made, so it’s not possible to prove that the markings are not the result of an ancient artefact being cleaned or altered at a later date.

When Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hit theatres, an archaeologist in Belize filed a lawsuit claiming that if the Mitchell-Hedges skull found in Belize was a true ancient skull, it’s an archaeological artefact that should be returned to Belize, and any money made off the skull rightfully belongs to Belize as the skull is theirs. Now, honestly, I totally agree with this lawsuit. If the skull believers insist that the skulls are ancient Mesoamerican artefacts, the only ethical and honourable course of action is returning the skulls to the culture and the people that originally made them.

It’s true that the skulls aren’t actually Mesoamerican artefacts and have no real historical or archaeological value in that particular context, but I don’t think they should be tossed in the basket for fakes and forgotten. They are beautifully made and still have a fascinating story to tell. The late 19th century saw a shift in European thinking.

The sudden interest in Mesoamerican art and culture led to a booming trade in artefacts, both fake and real, but I think the curiosity to learn about cultures nearly wiped out by almost three centuries of colonization was genuine. Governments and investors will always be driven by power and financial gain. However, I believe this new awakening interest and genuine curiosity about the lives and stories of other cultures among the common folk is what led the fledgling field of scientific archaeology to develop and planted the seeds for the large-scale active protection, preservation, and study of the history of this beautiful planet happening today.

As for the Mayan Calendar – most archaeologists and other experts have pointed out that the calendar simply indicated the end of a cycle, much like December 31st indicates the end of a year for us. It didn’t actually prophesize the end of the world, so no skulls were involved in the saving of our planet and mankind as a whole on 21st December 2012. I suspect the only thing we can possibly blame them for is that one Indiana Jones movie no-one talks about.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are crystal skulls made of?

The life-size skulls found in museums and a handful of private collections are mostly clear rock quartz. The remaining hundreds, if not thousands that you can find for sale on eBay, could be quartz, glass, or even resin, depending on your forger of choice.

What is the significance of the number 13 in relation to crystal skulls?

According to Mayan legend, the ancients were given 13 crystal skulls. These skulls were then dispersed all over the globe to be reunited in the time of mankind’s greatest need.

What are the alleged properties of crystal skulls?

Crystal healers believe different gemstones have the ability to manifest intentions and raise vibrations. Crystal skulls are said to amplify the existing powers of the stone, emit vibrational energy similar to the electromagnetic waves of the human brain, and enhance psychic abilities.

What is the Mitchell-Hedges skull?

The Mitchell-Hedges skull is one of the most famous crystal skulls. It is about 17.4 cm (6.8 inches) high, weighs around 5kg (11 pounds), and is carved from a single block of clear quartz with a detachable jaw.

Where was the Mitchell-Hedges skull allegedly found?

The Mitchell-Hedges skull was allegedly found in the ancient Mayan site of Lubaantun in Belize during an expedition in the 1920s.

What is the significance of the Mitchell-Hedges skull’s detachable jaw?

The detachable jaw of the Mitchell-Hedges skull is one of its unique features, distinguishing it from other crystal skulls. It was found separately from the skull and took three months to locate during the excavation.

What is the British Museum crystal skull?

The British Museum crystal skull is made from clear quartz and is closer to life size than some of the other skulls, measuring 15 cm (6 inches) from chin to top and 12 cm (5 inches) from ear to ear.

What is the Paris skull?

The Paris skull is the smallest of the museum skulls, measuring around 10cm (4 inches) from chin to top. It has a hole drilled through the center and was sold to Alphonse Pinart in 1875, who donated it to the museum in 1878.

What is the Smithsonian crystal skull?

The Smithsonian crystal skull is carved from white quartz and is larger than life size, weighing 14 kg (31 pounds) and standing 25 cm (10 inches) tall. It is hollow and was donated to the Smithsonian Institute in 1992.

What is the origin of the crystal skulls?

The origin of the crystal skulls is uncertain. While many believe they are pre-Columbian artefacts created by the Aztec or Maya, scientific evidence suggests they are modern creations, likely made in the 19th or 20th century.

Sources

• Original Decoding the Unknown video: Crystal Skulls: Unraveling the Secrets of Ancient Data Storage Technology?
• Hero image source by thegetty / openverse, cc0.