crystal skulls

[justinh]

what is the deal with the crystal skulls supposely found all over the world (before wholesale distributors)?

[Arken]

The only non-reproduction crystal skull I know about was found in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in the 1930s by Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the daughter of an archaeologist who joined him for the excavation of a Mayan city.

Testing on the skull indicated that it was made of quartz which was mined in Brazil sometime around the 15th century. It is a very detailed piece of work, truly superb craftsmanship and whoever created it was quite an artist as details as minute as bone joints and eye sockets are reproduced.

As to its use, who knows? We do know that the Mayans were very interested in skulls and they figure in a lot of their religious artwork, so it may have been used in some sort of religious ceremony. If it was, it would have probably been considered some sort of holy artifact to the Mayans and was very highly regarded.

The Mitchell-Hedges skull has been compared to other crystal skulls and the other skulls have usually been shown to be forgeries. The most tell-tale sign of that is modern cutting tool flaws in the cracks.

If other crystal skulls really have been found in other parts of the world, I really wouldn't be too shocked. After all, the skull is where all human thought comes from and a transparent skull would be symbolic of being able to see not only through the skin, but through the mind as well, sort of a very morbid way of saying, "I know what you're thinking."

[Johanna]

The book The Crystal Skull by Richard M. Garvin (Doubleday, 1973) came out when I was a kid and I read about its mystery. It was discovered during a search for Atlantis. The book included a statement by Anna Mitchell-Hedges on how the Skull had influenced her life since its discovery, something about how it had opened esoteric secrets unto her. Her reverential tone seemed was disconcerting to me. But I guess gazing into it at length might produce a mild trance state.

[Johanna]

Hmmm, even the Crystal Skull Society, which had formed around Ms. Mitchell-Hedges and her esoteric lore, after investigating the thing's provenance, has now been forced to admit that the whole thing was a fake.
http://www.crystalskullsociety.org/mitchell.htm

[2nd guest]

I doubt they'll go away any time soon. Once these things get started, they "are discovered" everywhere for decades.

[LouisB]

Speaking as one who has been involved in the quartz crystal industry for better than twenty-five years, I can attest that cutting and shaping quartz is not a simple task. Whoever made the thing was a superb crafstman, even it it was not made centuries ago.

It always somewhat baffles me to hear people ascribe mystical properties to quartz---I have handled quartz almost daily for a long time and have never noticed any particular benefit, other than my income.

A cursory examination of the field of piezoelectricity will convince even skeptics that quartz is a "magical" substance although its magic is pure science and not mysticism.