Crystal skull

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"Crystal Skull" is also the name of an episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. You may also be looking for the Seattle band Crystal Skulls.

A crystal skull

A crystal skull is a model of a human skull made out of clear quartz crystal. A modern legend claims that there are 13 crystal skulls worldwide, of which five have actually been found, which have mystical powers and are of ancient origin. Such claims remain unproven. New skulls carved from crystal are made and sold regularly.

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.

The healing and supernatural powers of crystal skulls have never been scientifically established. The scientific community at large has found no evidence of any unusual phenomena associated with the skulls nor any reason for further investigation.

The supposed supernatural powers of the skulls have been the cornerstone of the Star Protist cult. Their founder and leader Jacob Jachowicz claims to be able to read the skulls and harness their powers.

[edit] Mitchell-Hedges skull

Without doubt the most famous and enigmatic skull is the one allegedly discovered in 1927 (or 1926, or 1924, depending on the source) by Frederick A. Mitchell-Hedges atop a ruined temple at the ancient internal Mayan city of Lubaantun, in British Honduras, now Belize. It is commonly referred to as the Skull of Doom.

The skull was made from a single block of clear quartz (although the jaw detaches), 5 inches high, 7 inches long and 5 inches wide. It is about the size of a small human cranium, with near perfect detail. In 1970, art restorer Frank Dorland claimed that he was given permission to submit the skull to tests at the internal Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. He claimed that the skull featured some anomalies. According to Dorland, the skull had been carved with total disregard to the natural crystal axis and no metal tools were used. Dorland claimed he was unable to find any tell-tale scratch marks, except for traces of mechanical grinding on the teeth. From tiny patterns near the carved surfaces, Dorland determined it was first chiseled into rough form, probably using diamonds. However, no evidence on this matter has been provided by Hewlett-Packard, so it is doubtful whether these tests were ever carried out. The finer shaping, grinding and polishing, Frederick claimed, was done with sand over a period of 150 to 300 years. Norman Hammond later reported holes, intended for support pegs, drilled by metal. Although various claims have been made over the years regarding the skull's physical properties, such as an allegedly constant temperature of 70°F, Dorland reported that it was no different from other natural quartz crystals. Dorland also claimed that the skull's origin was Atlantis and that it had been carried around by the Knights Templar during the crusades.

Mitchell-Hedges mentioned the skull in the first edition of his autobiography, Danger My Ally (1954), without specifying where or by whom it was found. He merely stated 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". Later editions of Danger My Ally omitted the skull entirely.

The earliest published reference to the skull is the July 1936 issue of Man (a British anthropological journal), where it is described as in the possession of Mr. Sydney Burney, a London art dealer, who was said to have owned it since 1933. No mention was made of Mitchell-Hedges. There is documentary evidence that he bought it from Burney in 1944. The skull is currently in the custody of Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the adopted daughter of Frederick. She steadfastly refuses to let it be examined by experts.

Research carried out on several crystal skulls by the British Museum in 1996 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.

The British Museum crystal skull and the one at Paris' Musée de l'Homme (half-sized) were both originally sold by Eugène Boban, a French collector of pre-Columbian artifacts and antiques dealer named Boban who ran his business in Mexico City between 1860 and 1880. The British Museum crystal skull transited through New York's Tiffany's, whilst the Musée de l'Homme's crystal skull was donated by a collector who had bought it from Boban. It is reasonable to speculate that the Mitchell-Hedges skull also came 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 ages and that it originated with Boban. 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.

[edit] Crystal skulls in fiction

• A crystal skull is one of the Twenty Treasures of Zork from the Infocom text adventure Zork I.
• The comic strip The Phantom has made use of the Crystal Skulls in several stories. The plot of the 1990s movie The Phantom, based on the comic strip, revolved around skulls with magic powers —however these were of jade, gold, and silver, and not crystal.
• An episode of the television series Stargate SG-1 dealt with crystal skulls, in which the crystal skull was an artifact left behind from an ancient alien civilization that allowed access to another dimension.
• In the horror-comedy film House 2, the Crystal Skull is a mystical artifact that is sought after by ghosts and other supernatural creatures.
• In the PlayStation role playing game Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Crystal Skulls play a significant role in the plot, being used by the villains to steal humans' dreams and bring about the apocalypse. One also appears in the sequel, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
• In the PlayStation 2 role playing game Shadow Hearts: From the New World, Crystal Skulls play a role in the puzzles at Chichen Itza.
• The manga Spriggan shows a crystal skull that can destroy a location or a structure if power is applied to it properly.
• In an episode of the animated television series M.A.S.K., a Mayan crystal skull gives its owner the power to see through objects.
• In the PlayStation survival horror game Parasite Eve II, the crystal skull is used as a support accessory benefitting the character in some way.
• Two releases by Raja Ram, a 2001 album entitled The Mystery of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls, and another 2003 album entitled The Secret of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls, are both direct references to the modern legend. They are compilations of psychedelic trance artists on Tip.World records.
• Crystal Skull is the name of a song by the metal band Mastodon from their 2006 release Blood Mountain, and the whole album is based on the concept of finding a crystal skull.
• In the webcomic The Adventures of Fifine, Fifine is searching for a crystal skull, one of the artifacts left behind by the mysterious human race.
• In American Dragon Jake Long, the Huntsclan is attempting to gather the thirteen crystal skulls to achieve their goal of destroying all magical creatures.
• A possible replica of a crystal skull can be seen briefly in the office of a scientist in an episode of the series Transformers: Cybertron.
• In "Sidekicks Don't Kiss", an episode of the animated series The Tick, the episode's lead villain briefly frightened the Tick by claiming to have a cyrstal skull. However, it was actually just a baseball.
• A crystal skull is one of the central objects in L.J. Smith's literary series, The Secret Circle. It was a Master Tool of the original New Salem Coven and is magickally transformed in the last book to become the villain's actual (inside his head) skull.
• A crystal skull appears in several Jack Flanders radio adventures.
• Maxis produced a PC game called the Crystal Skull.
• In the science fiction series Atlantis by Greg Donegan (Bob Mayer), the crystal skulls are created during battle against the shadow where the psychic energies released were too much for the flesh of the priestess of atlantis (and their descendents) to endure, and crystalized the living bone of their skulls.Malaka Giatre...pou einai to pouli mou.....
• In the movie The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines, the Librarian can be seen presenting a crystal skull to the library of artifacts.

[edit] External links

• Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith - "The crystal skulls of Central America"
• Crystal Skull
• skepdic.com - crystalskull
• World Mysteries - Crystal Skulls

[edit] Bibliography

• 1997 "Crystal Skulls and Other Problems". In Exhibiting Dilemmas, Issues of Representation at the Smithsonian. Amy Henderson & Adrienne Kaeppler, eds., Washington, D.C.:Smithsonian Institution Press