Page 33 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - September 2023
P. 33
The Mystery of the Crystal Skull Solved 33
THE MYSTERY OF THE
CRYSTAL SKULL
SOLVED
Continued from Page 32
WHAT HAPPENED AT
LUBAANTUN
Perhaps the tallest tale of all is that Anna
Mitchell-Hedges found the skull while on
an expedition with her father to British
Honduras (now Belize) in 1924. She said
she could prove she was there because,
when she returned to Lubaantun in 1989,
some of the Mayans recognized her.
What other proof does she have? None.
“All my father’s papers,” she told a
reporter in 1983, “were lost in Hatteras
during a cyclone - photographs and all.” is no doubt that in many cases he has block of clear quartz “rick crystal.” The
done so for the purpose of deceiving.” lower jaw, which is detached, was made
That doesn’t explain why none of the from the same block.
other members of F.A. Mitchell-Hedges’s Despite archaeologists’ warnings, newly
Central American expeditions ever made crystal skulls were readily passed • Age: It’s most likely less than a
mentioned him finding the crystal skull, off as ancient Mayan and Aztec in origin century old. Unfortunately, as the British
or why none of them could verify that even though they bore little resemblance Museum explains, “Contrary to popular
Anna was ever there with him. The to real artifacts made by those cultures. belief, there are no satisfactory scientific
existing photographs(the ones that didn’t But most collectors didn’t know that. As techniques which can be used to
get lost in the cyclone) don’t show a skull far as they were concerned, they had in accurately establish when a stone object
or Anna. their possession an impressive was carved.”
conversation piece that “the natives
According to the Skeptical Inquirer, an believe hold magical powers.” According • Weight: 11 pounds, 7 ounces. (A
archaeologist named Dr. John Morris to anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh, real human skull weighs about two
went to Belize to try and retrace Anna’s “The first generation of fakes were made pounds.)
steps, but he “couldn’t find any of the in Mexico… between 1856 and 1880.
tunnels or passages she described.” So This 24-year period may represent the • Dimensions: 7 inches long, 5
why make up such a fantastical account? output of a single artisan, or perhaps a inches wide, and 5 inches high. The skull
Because the real origin of the crystal single workshop.” Then European fakes is anatomically correct, but smaller than
skull is a lot less glamourous. got in on the act. One of these skulls was that of an adult.
put om display at the British Museum in
THE REAL ORIGIN 1898. Sometime in the 1920s or ‘30s, a • Value: It’s difficult to come up
German jeweler - most likely in the town with a dollar amount - there isn’t really a
of Idar-Oberstein, which is known for its going price for, as Joe Nickell described
In late 19th-century Europe,
stunning quartz artworks - made a copy it, “an ancient artifact that’s not really
Mesoamerican artifacts were all the rage.
of that skull. The forged artifact then ancient but still has some interesting
Wealthy adventurers - the same types
changed hands a few times before F.A. history.” F.A. Mitchell-Hedges paid
who went on African safaris to bring
Mitchell-Hedges purchased it in London about the equivalent of $5,000 in today’s
home big game treasures - funded
in 1943. money for it. An appraisal in the 1970s -
expensive expeditions, where they
when it was still thought to be a genuine
basically pilfered sacred sites for trinkets
CRYSTAL CLEAR ancient Mayan artifact - valued it at
and artifacts that they sold for a tidy
$500,000. But after Anna Mitchell-
profit to museums and collectors. It was
such a booming business that Mexican - Just because the crystal skull isn’t a Hedges died in 2007, the skull was
and later European - jewelers started magical object brought to Atlantis by appraised for a paltry $3,000. If it were to
making and selling fake ancient artifacts. aliens doesn’t mean it’s not an amazing actually go on the auction block, its status
Even then, these fakes riled science- piece of craftsmanship. Even skeptics as the most famous crystal skull in the
minded archaeologists such as the marvel at it. world would spark a competitive bidding
war, but another auction doesn’t seem to
Smithsonian’s William Henry Holmes,
who wrote as early as 1886 that it is easy Here are some of its stats: be the fate of this crystal skull.
for “a native artisan to imitate any of the
older forms of ware [ceramics]; and there • Material: The Mitchell-Hedges (Continued on Page 34)
crystal skull was made from a single