In 1943 the skull was auctioned at Sotheby's in London and purchased by Frederick Arthur Mitchell-Hedges.
Since
the publication of Mitchell-Hedges' memoir, Danger My Ally, this
20th-Century, third-generation skull has acquired a Mayan origin along
with a pletora of legends and fantastic powers. Mitchell-Hedges's
adopted daughter Anna, who died in 2007 (age 100,) protected the skull
for 60 years by exhibiting it for a fee on various occasions. The object
is currently in the possession of Anna's husband, even though a dozen
nephews and cousins claim ownership. The skull is also known as the
"Skull of Destiny", "Skull of Love", or simply the Mitchell-Hedges
Skull. It is said to have the property of emitting beams of blue light
from its eyes, and capable of destroying computer hard drives.
Although
all Crystal Skulls have been alternately identified as Aztec, Toltec,
Mixtec, or Mayan, none reflect the stylistic or artistic characteristics
of those cultures. Aztec and Toltec versions of skulls were almost
always carved from basalt, sometimes covered with stucco, and probably
painted. They were usually hung on the wall or placed on altars, or
inserted into bas-reliefs of deities as ornaments worn on the belt.
Comparatively,
they were stylized but more naturalistic than the Crystal Skulls, at
least as far as the depiction of the teeth is concerned. The Mixtecs
occasionally crafted skulls from gold, but such representations were
more properly skull-like faces with eyes, noses, and ears. The Mayans
also carved skulls but in relief or in limestone. Often these skulls,
painted in profile, represented the days of the calendar.
Buyers from
France and other European countries imagined buying pre-Columbian
sculptures of high quality, perhaps partly drawn by their fascination
with the human sacrifices of the Aztecs.
But the Aztecs didn't hang
crystal skulls around their necks. If anything, they placed the skulls
of sacrificed victims on display cases, impaling them horizontally
across the temples (parietal-temporal region) and not vertically.
Welsh
believes that the first generation Crystal Skulls were forgeries made
in Mexico between 1856 and 1880. This 24 year period may represent the
work of a single craftsman, or perhaps a single workshop. The Paris
(larger) Skull from 1878 appears to be something of a transitional
piece, as it has the same vertical hole as the smaller skulls, but the
size cuts it off from the hypothesis of being uses in necklaces or
belts.
This skull now rests in the underground laboratories of the
Louvre, and the Musee du Quai Branly has begun a program of scientific
tests with X-rays, Raman spectroscope and others.
The Paris Skull of
1878 and the Boban-Tiffany-British Museum Skull that appeared in 1881
are probably two European inventions of the 19th Century. There is no
connection between these two skulls and Mexico, except in the figure of
Boban: they simply appear in Paris following his return to France from
Mexico in 1869.
The Mitchell-Hedges’s Skull, which appeared in 1934,
is certainly a replica of the British Museum Skull, with the
improvements and developments that a skilled forger would make.
Actually,
in 1936 the British Museum scholar Adrian Digby was the first to
hypothesize the similarity of the Mitchell-Hedges’s Skull with that of
his museum; however he, being a young curator at the time, did not go so
far as to denounce a modern manufacture, nor did he consider the
possibility that the skull in the British Museum itself was a fake, as
microscopic examinations of the time failed to detect the presence of
signs of modern tools.
The skull that came to the Smithsonian in 1992
is assigned to a separate class by Walsh. According to its anonymous
donor, it was purchased in Mexico in 1960 and its dimensions perhaps
reflect the exuberance of the time. Compared to the original 19th
Century skulls this is a huge one. At the time of publication of the
article, it was kept in Welsh's office in a locked cabinet.
Fifth and
perhaps sixth generation skulls exist today, and the anthropologist
herself was asked to examine some of them. Various collectors have
submitted to his attention skulls of supposed exotic provenance (Mexico,
Guatemala, Brazil, Tibet). Some of these "crystals" are actually made
of glass, while others are made of hard resins.
Together with British
Museum scientist Margaret Sax, Welsh examined the English and American
skulls by SEM, confirming that their manufacture was done with modern
lapidary tools that were totally unknown to the pre-Columbian sculptors
of Central America.
But what is the reason for such a long-lasting
success of the Crystal Skulls, some of which are still exhibited in
museums today? Perhaps because of the interest that man has always had
for the macabre as well as for the mystery.
The truth behind the Crystal
Skulls probably followed Boban to his grave - since he was the only one
to move at least five different skulls - a highly skilled antiquarian
who managed to place a large number of artifacts on museums and private
collectors boasting them as found in archaeological sites, which later
turned out to be stupendous fakes. And perhaps there are still other
objects that need to be recognized as such.
Science therefore seems
to have a definitive opinion on the falsehood of the pre-Columbian
origin of the Crystal Skulls, even if it has not yet managed to
conclusively explain the reason for such attraction not only from the
public, but also from expert researchers.
If the Crystal Skulls
represent one of the very rare examples of objects that have found a
place in museums without ever being excavated, nor without any proof of
their ancient origin, there are other objects that can be defined as
"mysterious" and linked to the Aztec culture. These are obsidian
mirrors, ritual objects that are frequently represented in Aztec art.
Very few of these mirrors come from archaeological excavations, and are
not documented as being Aztec in style; paradoxically, most Aztec
material experts consider obsidian mirrors to be authentic pre-Columbian
products. Archaeologist Michael E. Smith claims to have unearthed a
small crystal skull (not yet publicly disclosed) at an Aztec site in the
valley of Mexico.
Another parallel can be drawn in the case of the
Olmec jade masks: they are anthropomorphic masks carved into the rock.
Scholars refer to the Olmec style because, although no mask has been
found in any of the sites catalogued as "Olmec," the workmanship would
appear to be Olmec in nature. The masks have been found at
archaeological sites belonging to other cultures, including one
deliberately placed in the ceremonial area of Tenochtitlan (Mexico
City), which must have numbered around 2,000 by the time the Aztecs
buried it.