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Is The Smithsonian Skull Cursed?
This 31-pound skull was donated anonymously
Her First Crystal Skull Encounter
A phone call from a colleague brought her face-to-face with an enormous crystal skull
Why Study The Crystal Skulls?
Dr. Jane Walsh tells how her interest in "fakes" led her to the crystal skulls
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The crystal skull sought by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the latest silver-screen installment of the archaeologist’s over-the-top adventures is, of course, a movie prop—masquerading as an ancient artifact from pre-Columbian Central America. (Disclosure: in my day job, I work for a magazine published by producer George Lucas’ Educational Foundation.) As it happens, the prop bears a strong resemblance to scores of crystal skulls in museum collections around the world. These skulls, carved from large chunks of quartz, may well have been chiseled by descendants of Aztecs and Mayans, but they are decidedly post-Columbian.
Fakes are an all too real part of the museum world. “There are always artists capable of making and selling things that seem old,” says anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Walsh has seen her share of fakes. In fact, she has become something of a specialist on the subject. “I didn’t start out as a skeptic,” she says, “but experience has changed my outlook.”
In 1992, according to Walsh, the museum received an unsolicited donation of a larger-than-life, ten-inch-high skull carved from milky-hued quartz. Some time later, Walsh, an expert in Mexican archaeology, was asked to research the skull, one of several known to exist. Until that point, skulls of this kind typically had been attributed to ancient Mesoamerican cultures.
Walsh knew that if the skull proved to be a genuine pre-Columbian relic, it would constitute an important addition to the Smithsonian collection. But she harbored doubts from the start. “After Mexican independence,” she says, “a lot of outsiders started coming into the country and collecting historic pieces for museums.” The collectors, she adds, “created a demand, and local artisans then created a supply. Some of the things sold to these foreigners may not have been made to intentionally deceive, but certain dealers claimed that they were ancient.”
A major player in the skull game, according to Walsh, was Frederick Arthur Mitchell-Hedges, an English stockbroker-turned-adventurer who, in 1943, began displaying a crystal carving that he called “The Skull of Doom” to his dinner-party guests. His daughter, Anna, later claimed that he had found the skull in a ruined temple in Belize during the early 1920s. The family’s stories seemed to generate the “discovery” of more skulls with even wilder tales attached. (They had come from the lost city of Atlantis or been left by extraterrestrials.)
Investigations by the Linnean Society of London, a research institute specializing in taxonomy and natural history, revealed that Mitchell-Hedges actually purchased his skull at auction at Sotheby’s in London in 1943 for around £400, about $18,000 today. How it came to the auction house isn’t known. (Anna Mitchell-Hedges kept it until her death at age 100 last year; the object remains in the family.) Experts now believe that many extant crystal skulls were made in Germany during the late 1800s; Walsh thinks that the Smithsonian skull was carved in Mexico in the 1950s.
By 1996, Walsh had decided to put the skull to the test. She took it to London’s British Museum, whose collections contain two similar skulls. Margaret Sax, a materials expert there, used scanning electron microscopy to study tool marks on the skulls. In each case, she noted that modern tools and abrasives had been employed. Today, the skull that launched Walsh’s sleuthing sits in a locked cabinet in her Washington, D.C. office, faux and forlorn. Walsh, offering an explanation as to why many museums even today exhibit crystal skulls as authentic Mesoamerican antiquities, describes the artifacts as “reliable crowd pleasers.”
A few years ago, another skull was sent to NMNH for testing. Researchers took a sample; what had appeared to be quartz crystal was found to be glass.
“So that [one],” says Walsh, “turned out to be a fake fake.”
Owen Edwards, who lives in San Francisco, is a freelance writer and author of the book Elegant Solutions.
Additional Sources
"Legend of the Crystal Skulls: The Truth Behind Indiana Jones's Latest Quest" by Jan MacLaren Walsh, Archaeology, May/June 2008
great article but you need more info. You hve plenty to convince me but you need more proof.
Posted by Sierra Kiper on June 3,2008 | 12:33PM
GOOD ARTICLE ON THE CRYSTAL SKULL DELEMA People are still foragers after 2 million years and are always looking for something that will bring them fame and fortune. We must realize that rulers of the past needed to control the ignorant masses of people and certain objects invoked fear and obedience in order to control societies. Look what Happened to Socrates and Jesus for telling people That they should think for themselves.
Posted by Peter Langes on June 3,2008 | 01:22PM
I totally enjoy Smithsonians articles on archaeology. Although being a retired special ed. teacher , I always loved this subject. Keep it up !!! GW
Posted by George F.Willwerth on June 3,2008 | 01:24PM
Glass skulls, cone heads and pumpkin heads are a lot of fun but their archaeological value is naturally questionable. Some people have far too much time on their hands. However, I saw "Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls" and thought it was,also, a lot of fun. I would hope that no one would think it portrayed anything real.
Posted by Charles Ivie on June 3,2008 | 01:56PM
Good article sadly alot of "new Age Items turn out too be FAKES and SCAMS...... I hope this educatues Us to use discretion and Knowledge too see past the Faux and Shine
Posted by James Minium on June 3,2008 | 02:00PM
There is a crystal skull pictured on the cover of the last issue of "Archaeologist." Although I have not read it yet, the skull looks a lot different. You can almost see through it. This skull is opaque. Now to find my issue and see what the difference is. Apparently, the movie has brought attention to the "crystal skull" at least to have it appear in two prestigious magazines.
Posted by Barbara Harrison on June 3,2008 | 02:00PM
Silliness is right. The skull from the Indiana Jones movie looked like plastic (I'm sure they'll be on sale soon for everyone to buy) and the movie explained it came from human beings with elongated heads or extraterrestrials, take your pick. The whole story was muddled and unengaging.
Posted by Carolyn Watanabe on June 3,2008 | 03:19PM
Silliness? Owen, the boss probably won't be pleased. You may want to start looking for an new day job.
Posted by IJ on June 4,2008 | 07:53AM
I SAW A PROGRAM ON TV RECENTLY & I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO IT ALL SOMEHOW !!!!!!!!!
Posted by STEVE LEVY on June 4,2008 | 03:48PM
Hey, the Crystal Skull saga continues to be a 'Kick' - and I love all the interest that it has generated. I will be in DC next Wednesday (at the Morrison House in Alexandria) and would like to see the "skull" if possible. Where - when, etc. Eleanor A. Hannemann
Posted by Eleanor A. Hannemann on June 4,2008 | 08:17PM
the facts and the fun need not be mutually exclusive! most will take the film as intended, not literally, and anything that inspires one to actually then look at history and archaeology and the real passions therein, is a brilliant thing in my book.
Posted by kate ryan on June 5,2008 | 05:27AM
I took my 7-year-old grandson to see the movie and he thought it was great! So did I! If a family movie like this gets him thinking about history, archealogy and adventure, then more power to it! And yes, it wets the appetite to find out more about the "real" thing, authentic or fake.
Posted by Tia Hunt on June 6,2008 | 09:04AM
Yes, I agree with Tia Hunt.... I am a teacher, and anything that promotes inquiry and dialogue in students is valuable tool ... I hope there is another Indiana Jones in our future and I look forward to what archaeological interest it sparks.
Posted by Lucinda lamb on June 7,2008 | 09:45AM
Yes, I agree this movie gets people thinking about history, archeology, ancient civilizations, adventure and the need to find the real thing, that's great! But, I also saw Hollywood bring out the next "Indy" (his son), to carry on. Hope the adventure can continue, with “some” authenticity.
Posted by Carol on June 8,2008 | 06:02PM
Now why should the movie industry bring out an 'authentic' archaeological film? In reality, for outsiders, a dig is tedious, boring work usually done for little money or recognition. Nobody wants to pay money to see a movie about people sitting on the ground and scratching away at the dirt, or cleaning and numbering endless amounts of non-descript pots sherds. IF you are lucky and hit a big find, it's another story of course. However, most archaeologists work to advance knowledge about a particular era, and are largely ignored outside the field they work in. More power to Indy and his perhaps-sucessor. Anything that gets people interested in history, and the need to research and preserve it it great.
Posted by D.W. Murphy on June 11,2008 | 10:57AM
It's a shame that cultural promoters use Hollywood's movies like "Indiana Jones" to attract the masses to museums, art galleries, and other cultural activities, but what the heck! some how is necessary to achieve the impacts of art in society and its surroundings.
Posted by Jordi Prat on June 12,2008 | 09:09PM
Apparently, two key pieces of information regarding the Mitchell-Hedges Skull are missing from the Owen Edwards story. First, the surprising high-tech results from the Hewlett-Packard laboratory investigation. Second,the belief by some that M-H left the skull in London with someone who had loaned him money for an expedition, only to find on his return the latter had arranged to sell (or re-sell) it through Sothbey's, which forced an angry M-H to purchase (or re-purchase) it for £400 in 1943. Perhaps joint investigation by the Linnaeus Society and Sothebey's is needed to clarify the core issue, namely, the highly advanced technology evidenced in the M-H Skull, leaving aside all Atlantis, 2012, UFO and pre-colombian attachments?
Posted by Stan Hall on June 16,2008 | 02:23AM
A real skull Has been found and shown on ng tv with marking on it of a map in south america to Africa and then to south Africa.. She then said it will go to a collector. I later found the skull in a rock shop being told that it was a geode. I still have the item today and it looks real to me, A little to real.
Posted by Michael Cline on June 17,2008 | 05:01PM
Very cool! I really enjoyed this article!
Posted by Chris Broersma on June 19,2008 | 09:17PM
I have no doubt that the crystal skulls lurking in various museums are of relatively recent origin, but I'd like to know more about a much smaller skull set in the base of a Mexican reliquary which is believed to be from 17th century. This object was part of the "Mexico -- Splendors of Thirty Centuries" exhibit which toured the U.S. in the 80's and a picture of it appeared in the exhibit book.
Posted by Jojo Jones on July 10,2008 | 07:15AM