Legend Of The Crystal Skulls
In 1924, deep in the jungle of British Honduras (now known as Belize), a young 17-year-old woman, made a great discovery. Anna Mitchell-Hedges (adopted daughter of British explorer and adventurer, Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges) while on an expedition in the Mayan site of Lubaantum, discovered a near life-size crystal skull from under a shattered alter in a ruined temple.
The Mitchell-Hedges Skull
This skull became known as the 'Skull of Doom'. Soon after its discovery, Anna's father presented the skull back to the Mayans who were still living in the area. Anna and her father were told by the Mayans that the skull was used by one of their gods for healing or to 'will death'. The skull was used for purposes such as when a high priest was dying, he would be laid out on the alter, where his successor would be present. It was believed that all the 'high priest's' knowledge would pass between him and his successor - via the skull.
When Mitchell-Hedges finished his expedition in 1927 he was given the skull back from the Mayans as a parting gift for all the kindness Mitchell had shown to the local people.
The 'Skull of Doom' measured 5 inches high, 7 inches long and 5 inches wide and made from a block of clear quartz with a detachable lower jaw. In the 1970s, Art restorer Frank Dorland examined the skull at the time and concluded it must have been roughly carved by hand using diamonds. The skull was then shaped and polished with sand in an age which must have lasted between 150-300 years in their time period to complete. This put the skull at possibly 12,000 years old.
This only intensified the legend of the mystical and supernatural powers of the supposed pre-Columbian crystal skulls. Believers of a Mayan creation myth say thirteen crystal skulls were created tens of thousands of years ago by an ancient Mesoamerican civilisation - each possessing knowledge and wisdom. The thirteen skulls were then dispersed and hidden away until 'mankind had learned' to live in harmony with each other and with planet Earth. Only then, will this sacred knowledge be passed on to a modern world when the skull's knowledge is brought together.
The skulls are thought to be like crystal balls. Many people claim they offer visions of the past and future, healing, emanating psychic energies, people hearing voices and singing, or causing destruction and doom. F.A. Mitchell-Hedges backs up the 'doom' aspect when he documented “several people who have cynically laughed at it and then died, or become seriously ill”. Anna claimed to have used the skull for healing but gave no details.
The London Skull
Another crystal skull is kept at the British Museum in London. Purchased from Tiffany and Co, New York in 1897 and originating from Mexico - the French antiquarian dealer, Eugene Boban sold it on to George H. Sisson. Similar in size to the Mitchel-Hedges skull (although the carving is not quite as detailed, the jaw is not detachable). Still, cleaners at the museum insist on it being covered up when the visitors have left, because of a certain presence.
The Paris Skull
Eugene Boban sold another crystal skull to Alphonse Pinart and in 1878 and he donated it to the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris. This was known as the 'Paris skull', which measured 4.5inches high and 6 inches long.
The Smithsonian Skull
In 1992 a large, crystal skull, 9 inches high, 8 inches long and weighing 30 pounds was anonymously posted to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. It's origin was supposed to be Aztec.
The Smithsonian and London skulls came under close scrutiny in 1996 in a joint project, using a scanning electron microscope and a binocular microscope. The London skull was found to be carved with lathe-mounted rotary wheels and not hand carved, which it would have been if it was a genuine ancient artifact.
Another find was the block of crystal originated from Brazil or Madagascar and not Mexico. The Smithsonian skull was made using an abrasive called, Carborundum, making it modern in date and not Aztec. It is now on view at the National Museum of Natural History as a fake. Both are now thought to have been made in the mid to late 1800's.
In 2007-08 the Paris skull was tested by the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums in France. Over three months of testing proved under Scanning electron microscopy and quartz hydration - dating the Paris skull was in fact a fake and carved sometime in the 18th or 19th century.
Another skull testing was conducted that same year after the death of Anna Mitchell-Hedges (married to Bill Homnan in 2002, who took custody of the 'Skull of Doom' after her death in 2007). It was presented to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for Jane MacLaren Walsh to study. She used computerised tomography and ultraviolet light. And again in 2008 - using a scanning electron microscope to make silicon moulds of the skulls surface, it was revealed it had been worked with high speed modern rotary tools and with a diamond abrasive. Walsh surmised it may have been carved in the 1930's.
New evidence on the ownership of the Mitchell-Hedges skull shows it was in fact owned by Mr Sydney Burney (since 1933). Fredrick Mitchell-Hedges then purchased it from him in 1944. This cast doubt on Anna's version of events. Frederick Mitchell-Hedges hardly mentioned the finding of the skull after his expedition in 1924. Still, Anna stuck to her story and the supernatural powers of the crystal skull.
There are still authentic crystal skulls around the world in private collections and museums- ranging from life-size to an inch or two. Some are clear - others are coloured and smokey and in varying detail.
Will the mythical thirteen ever be reunited - we will have to wait and see?
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