Crystal skulls are carvings made from types of quartz, such as clear or milky white rock crystal. Some people say they are ancient Mesoamerican artifacts from before European arrival in the Americas. However, scientific studies have shown that these claims are not true for the skulls that have been examined. Studies found that the skulls were made around the middle of the 1800s or later, most likely in Europe. This was a time when many people were interested in ancient cultures. The skulls were probably made in Germany, especially in the town of Idar-Oberstein. This town was famous for making items from Brazilian quartz imported during the late 1800s. Even though some books and articles say crystal skulls have magical powers, these stories are not found in real Mesoamerican or other Native American myths or spiritual beliefs. Some people in the New Age movement believe the skulls can show unusual or supernatural events. These beliefs are often shown in books, movies, and other fictional works. Crystal skulls are a common topic in many science fiction TV shows, books, movies, and video games.

Collections

During the late 1800s, the trade of fake pre-Columbian artifacts became widespread. In 1886, William Henry Holmes, a scientist at the Smithsonian Institution, wrote an article titled "The Trade in Spurious Mexican Antiquities" for the journal Science. While museums had previously collected human skulls, Eugène Boban, an antiquities dealer who opened a shop in Paris in 1870, is most closely linked to the 19th-century museum collections of crystal skulls. Boban’s collection, which included three crystal skulls, was later sold to Alphonse Pinart, an ethnographer. Pinart donated the collection to the Trocadéro Museum, which later became the Musée de l'Homme.

Research

Many crystal skulls are said to be from the pre-Columbian era, often linked to the Aztec or Maya civilizations. Mesoamerican art includes many images of skulls, but none of the skulls in museum collections were found during recorded archaeological digs. Studies of several crystal skulls at the British Museum in 1967, 1996, and 2004 showed that the lines carved to look like teeth (these skulls lacked separate jawbones, unlike the Mitchell-Hedges skull) were made using tools developed in the 19th century, such as rotary tools used by jewelers. This suggests the skulls could not have been made before the 19th century.

The type of crystal used in these skulls was identified by examining tiny pieces of chlorite inside the stones. This material is only found in Madagascar and Brazil, meaning it was not available in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Research concluded that the skulls were likely crafted in the 19th century in Germany, possibly in the town of Idar-Oberstein, known for making objects from imported Brazilian quartz during that time.

It has been confirmed that the crystal skulls in the British Museum and Paris’s Musée de l'Homme were originally sold by a French dealer named Eugène Boban, who worked in Mexico City between 1860 and 1880. The British Museum’s skull passed through New York’s Tiffany & Co., while the Musée de l'Homme’s skull was donated by Alphonse Pinart, an ethnographer who bought it from Boban.

In 1992, the Smithsonian Institution studied a crystal skull from an anonymous source. The source claimed to have bought it in Mexico City in 1960, saying it was Aztec in origin. The study found the skull was also made recently. The Smithsonian noted that Boban likely obtained his crystal skulls from Germany, matching findings from the British Museum.

In May 2008, the Journal of Archaeological Science published a study by the British Museum and the Smithsonian. Using electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography, researchers found that the British Museum’s skull was shaped with a harsh abrasive like corundum or diamond and a rotary disc tool made of metal. The Smithsonian’s skull was worked with silicon carbide (carborundum), a synthetic material made using modern industrial methods. Since carborundum was first created in the 1890s and became widely available in the 20th century, the researchers concluded the skull was likely made in the 1950s or later.

Individual skulls

The crystal skull in the British Museum first appeared in 1881 in the shop of a Paris art dealer named Eugène Boban. At that time, no information about its origin was included in Boban’s catalog. He tried to sell it to Mexico’s national museum as an Aztec artifact but was not successful. Later, Boban moved his business to New York City, where the skull was sold to George H. Sisson. In 1887, George F. Kunz displayed it at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in New York City. The skull was later sold at auction and purchased by Tiffany and Co., who then gave it to the British Museum in 1897. This skull is similar to the Mitchell-Hedges skull but has less detail and does not have a movable lower jaw.

The British Museum lists the skull’s origin as “probably European, 19th century AD” and says it is not an authentic pre-Columbian artifact. It has been confirmed that the skull was made using modern tools and is not genuine.

The most famous and mysterious skull is said to have been discovered in 1924 by Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the adopted daughter of British adventurer F. A. Mitchell-Hedges. A 1990 documentary, Crystal Skull of Lubaantun, was made about it. Smithsonian researchers described it as nearly identical in shape to the British Museum skull but with more detailed eyes and teeth.

Mitchell-Hedges claimed she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar in a temple in Lubaantun, British Honduras (now Belize). However, F. A. Mitchell-Hedges never wrote about this discovery in his books about Lubaantun. Others at the excavation did not record the skull’s discovery or Anna’s presence. Recent evidence shows that F. A. Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull at a Sotheby’s auction in London on October 15, 1943, from art dealer Sydney Burney. He told his brother about the purchase in a letter in December 1943.

The skull is made from a block of clear quartz, about the size of a small human head. It measures approximately 5 inches (13 cm) high, 7 inches (18 cm) long, and 5 inches (13 cm) wide. The lower jaw is separate. In the 1970s, art restorer Frank Dorland studied the skull and said it was carved without using metal tools. He noted mechanical grinding on the teeth and guessed it took 150 to 300 years to shape. He believed it might be up to 12,000 years old. However, tests by Hewlett-Packard showed it was made from a single quartz crystal, not multiple pieces. The lower jaw was made from the same type of crystal as the rest of the skull. No tests were done to determine how old it was or how it was made.

Mayanist archaeologist Norman Hammond found signs that the holes in the skull were drilled with metal tools. Anna Mitchell-Hedges refused to allow further scientific tests on the skull.

The first published mention of the skull was in the July 1936 issue of the journal Man, where it was said to be in the possession of Sydney Burney, who owned it since 1933. F. A. Mitchell-Hedges briefly mentioned the skull in his 1954 autobiography, Danger My Ally, saying it was at least 3,600 years old and used by a Maya high priest. Later editions of the book did not mention the skull.

In 1970, Anna said she was told by some Maya people that the skull was used by a high priest to cause death, leading some to call it “The Skull of Doom.” She displayed the skull for pay-per-view shows from 1967 until her death in 2007. After her death, the skull was owned by her husband, Bill Homann. He still believes in its mystical powers.

In 2007, Homann brought the skull to Smithsonian anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh for testing. Walsh used ultraviolet light, a microscope, and a special X-ray scan to examine it. She made molds of the skull’s surface for further analysis. The results showed the skull was carved with a high-speed metal tool coated with diamond. Walsh concluded the skull was likely made in the 1930s, based on the British Museum skull, which had been displayed since 1898.

In a National Geographic documentary, a forensic artist created a face from a replica of the skull. The face had features resembling a European woman, suggesting the skull was not made by ancient Americans.

Another skull, the largest of three sold by Eugène Boban to Alphonse Pinart, is about 10 cm (4 in) high and has a hole drilled through its center. It is in the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Scientific tests in 2007–2008 showed it was made with modern tools.

Paranormal claims and spiritual associations

Some people believe that crystal skulls can perform unusual or supernatural acts. Anna Mitchell-Hedges claimed that the skull she supposedly found could cause visions and cure cancer. She also said she once used its magical powers to harm a person and saw a vision of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

In the 1931 play The Satin Slipper by Paul Claudel, King Philip II of Spain uses "a death's head made from a single piece of rock crystal," lit by "a ray of the setting sun," to see the defeat of the Spanish Armada in its attack on England.

Scientists have not found evidence that crystal skulls have healing or supernatural powers. They have not discovered any unusual events connected to the skulls and do not see a need for further study, except to confirm their origin and how they were made.

Another idea, not supported by history, links crystal skulls to the end of a Maya calendar cycle on December 21, 2012. This idea suggests that thirteen mystical skulls would stop a disaster linked to the calendar’s end. This claim appeared in a 2008 TV program called The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, which also included interviews with Richard Hoagland and David Hatcher Childress. Hoagland connected the skulls to life on Mars, while Childress promoted theories about lost civilizations and anti-gravity.

In his book Serpent of Light, author Drunvalo Melchizedek writes that he saw indigenous Mayan descendants holding crystal skulls during ceremonies in the Yucatán. He claimed the skulls contained the souls of ancient Mayans who waited for a time when their knowledge would be needed again.

Stories about crystal skulls and Native American spiritual beliefs, as written by some authors like Jamie Sams, are not supported by evidence. Instead, scholar Philip Jenkins suggests these myths began with F.A. Mitchell-Hedges and were later popularized.

By the 1970s, crystal skulls became part of New Age beliefs, often linked to the lost civilization of Atlantis. These beliefs included the idea that there were exactly thirteen skulls. These stories would not relate to Native American traditions if not for the interest of New Age writers.