Perhaps one of the most enigmatic and debated artifacts in the world, the mysterious crystal skulls found in South America combine two realms of fascination: archaeology and gemology. Few archaeological finds have aroused as much public controversy as the Mitchell-Hedges skull, and in the world of gemology only the Hope Diamond itself comes close to the infamy of the skull. Hollywood has forever memorialized the artifact through the Indiana Jones series.
But what is the true story of the crystal skull phenomenon? Are these simply elaborate fabrications, or could they truly be artifacts of ancient and mysterious origin?
Of the innumerable crystal skulls which have supposedly been found across the world, most have been proven to be fakes. It would be incredibly difficult to research each crystal skull here to determine the validity of the phenomenon; that being said we will be focusing on the very first crystal skull ever found–and one of the only skulls which has proven very difficult to proclaim a fake: the Mitchell-Hedges skull. We will be investigating the history of the skull, strange features of the skull itself, and the purported ‘high strangeness’ and esoteric activity that is associated with the skull today.
Part I: History and Controversial Discovery of the Skull
The Mitchell-Hedges skull was allegedly first discovered in 1924, when a young Anna Mitchell-Hedges was lowered into a Mayan pyramid in Belize and came across the life-sized, quartz crystal skull. Her father, Frederick Mitchell-Hedges, was certain that it was an incredibly old Mayan artifact used in esoteric rites. This story of how Mitchell-Hedges came to have the skull is highly debated: papers have been discovered indicating that he purchased the skull at auction from a French antiques dealer named Boban, and many have used this as evidence to dismiss the skull’s validity completely. Despite these seemingly authentic documents, however, it is known that Mitchell-Hedges was in possession of the skull before the 1943 auction he supposedly purchased it in. In fact, it is well documented that in 1936 both Frederick Mitchell-Hedges and Boban brought the skull to the British Museum to have it analyzed. It is also known that the two men had been close friends for some time, and it is speculated that Mitchell-Hedges gave the skull to Boban, only to purchase it back at a later date.This could be seen as a ‘publicity stunt’ to attempt to bring more attention to the artifact, as at the time it was relatively unknown.
In the 1960’s the skull was inherited by Anna Mitchell-Hedges after her fathers death, and she began touring the United States with the skull. It was only once she began promoting the skull that it truly became public knowledge. In an attempt to prove the validity of the skull, Anna hired Hewlett-Packard to examine the skull in 1970. Hewlett-Packard was considered at the time to be the world’s leading researchers into quartz crystal. Today they still work in quartz crystal, utilizing it in computers and other advanced technologies. The findings of the study were sensational: some members of the team suggested that the crystal skull should not even exist, and none could claim to know how it could have been created with modern tools.
Part Two: Hewlett-Packard’s Findings & Unusual Features
Hewlett-Packard used a variety of the finest tools available to analyze the crystal skull, including high intensity microscopes and x-rays. They were unable to find any signs of machine marks on the surface of the quartz, instead finding even the internal nose cavities to be completely smooth. They also concluded that the skull had been made completely from one piece of natural quartz, and careful analysis revealed no cracks, scratches, or fractures in the matrix of the quartz. Additionally, the quartz which it was carved from was completely pure, containing not even a fleck of sand or other minerals, something which is highly uncommon to occur in nature. The level of clarity in the crystal also was unusual: it is the only alleged crystal skull to have the clarity of glass throughout, with no milky or tainted colorations. Its opacity is consistent throughout the entire skull.
Another amazing feature of the crystal skull found by Hewlett-Packard, which has yet to be explained, is that the smoothing and carving of the skull goes against the grain of the crystal. All crystals have defined faults; it will break along these faults if it is harshly disturbed, such as by a router or other carving tool. The Mitchell-Hedges skull goes completely against these faults in the crystalline structure, while not compromising the anatomical accuracy in any way to compensate. The team researching the skull was unable to theorize how this could be achieved without shattering the crystal.
In addition to these unusual features, the team found the composition of the quartz to have strange properties. The quartz is pure piezoelectric silicon dioxide, which is the only type of quartz used in modern electronics. It conducts electricity extremely well, and can even produce its own electricity in certain circumstances. The Mitchell-Hedges skull was found to have both positive and negative polarity and produced an electrical charge when under “mechanical stress”.
The skull also exhibits highly unusual visual aspects. The crystal contains an internal prism which reflects the skull’s surroundings perfectly in the interior of the skull. It is also carved in such a way that any light directed at the skull comes to a focus in the eye sockets.
Part Three: High Strangeness and Paranormal Phenomenon
The Mitchell-Hedges skull soon found its way into the buddingNew-Age circles of the 60s and 70s, and today it is promoted for its psychic properties. If one visits the official website, they will find that the current owners of the skulls frequently meditate with and pray to the skull. They subsequently claim to receive messages from the skull during these sessions. This ties into the supposed origin story of the skull: Frederick Mitchell-Hedges had claimed to be told by the natives that the skull was the embodiment of all evil, and any man who possessed it could cause the death of his enemies.
It should be noted that skull-worship was highly prevalent among South American societies. We mentioned briefly in our video special on the La Llorona myth that many of the Aztec deities were featured as having skull faces. Even today, Santa Muerte is depicted as a skeletal figure. In the Dia Des Muertos ceremonies, ‘sugar skulls’ are highly ornate skulls (now mostly fake skulls, but originally the skulls used were very real) were considered an essential way of proving to Mictecacihuatl their devotion to the ancestors. Throughout human history there have been many examples of cultures believing in ancestor worship through the worship of skulls. In Peru, the skulls of the ancestors would be buried underneath the floorboards of the living room. The skulls were frequently cleaned, and often covered with plaster to prevent the skulls being broken. Occasionally the skulls would also be decorated with seashells and precious stones. The Peruvians would pray to the skulls, and during ceremonies would often ‘feed’ them in order to appease their spirits. In India, meanwhile, skulls were frequently used in black magic and witchcraft. Various oriental religions also believed that skulls could be used to commune with and summon the dead. That being said, the worship of any skull representation has much precedent across the globe. We need not go into detail as to the worship and supposed mystical attributes of crystal. If this skull did exist in the time of the Mayans, it is extremely likely that it was worshiped, combining the significance of crystal and skull. Many who have been in the presence of the skull also claim to have witnessed events of high strangeness, and if witnessed by the Mayans this certainly would have provoked them to believe the skull to be the embodiment of evil.
Frank Dorland was care-taker of the skull for some time in the 1960s, and during that time he reported many frightening occurrences. He would often hear strange sounds, see strange lights in the vicinity of the skull, or see the skull itself glowing. He also claimed that if he looked directly into the eyes of the skull he would often see images of pyramids and jungles within the crystal. The images were accompanied by musical, metallic bells and singing, and the sound of rivers and waterfalls. This is not to say, however, that Dorland believed that the skull had any paranormal origins or psychic power: he explained these events away by what he dubbed biocrystallograpy. This was defined as the interaction between the crystal and the senses; knowing that the skull was found in a pyramid, his mind essentially played tricks on him, transforming the glimmers and glints in the “mass of crystal” into imagery which was not actually there. He claimed this was due to a natural mirror synchronicity between the structure of the crystal and the human brain. “The mass of crystal in some way triggered certain reflexes in the brain, to make you think that you were tasting things, hearing things or seeing things”, according to Dorlan. Many individuals since Dorlan have stated to have had similar encounters.
While the “official” scientific community has concluded that the Mitchell-Hedges skull is counterfeit due to the discovery recently of small tool etchings, the controversy around the skull is hardly quelled. I must point out here that no one claimed they would not find toolmarks eventually as our modern technology evolved enough to see it. To claim such would be to claim that the crystal somehow grew in natural processes into the anatomically accurate, life-size human skull, and that is a claim which no-one has made. So in reality, all that has been proven is that the skull was indeed carved at some point, which means little. As always, the Phenomenal Files leaves the conclusion of whether the Mitchell-Hedges skull is a genuine ancient artifact or an amazing fraud up to the reader. Nonetheless: regardless of how and when it was created, the skull remains one of the most mysterious pieces of history ever discovered, and the craftsmanship required to create it is unparalleled.
References:
“The Stare of Death” (2018). The Unredacted. Retrieved from: https://theunredacted.com/mystery-of-the-crystal-skulls-the-stare-of-death/
“Mitchell-Hedges Skull Controversy” (n.d) Retreived from: https://crystalskulls.com/Mitchell-Hedges-controversy.html
Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull (n.d) mitchell-hedges.com
“Skulls were used for black magic” (2011). Times of India. Retreived from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hubballi/skulls-were-used-for-black-magic/articleshow/8226714.cms