Are Ancient Crystal Skulls Real, or Just Something from Indiana Jones?

With the latest Indiana Jones movie centering around mysterious ancient skulls carved from crystal, one has to wonder if such a thing really exists. Well, they do. In fact, there are several examples of crystal skulls in various museums throughout the world. One of the first skulls, only about an inch in size, was acquired around 1856 by the British Museum. Soon after, there were other skulls exhibited in cities like Paris. The skulls were rumored to be of Mesoamerican or pre-Columbian origin, but oddly, none of the skulls were associated with actual archaeological excavations. They just sort of appeared in the hands of collectors.

Around the time the skulls began appearing, it was common for people to create fake artifacts. Most of the artifacts were proved fake, but since advanced scientific technology wasn't around at the time, the skulls couldn't be accurately dated or conclusively shown to be of modern origin. One of the small skulls that the Smithsonian Institute purchased in 1886 was proven to be made on modern machinery, but it was unfortunately stolen sometime in the 1970s. The actual construction of the skulls is also mysterious, but all of the small skulls have a drill hole going through the center, which makes some scientists theorize that maybe the quartz crystal was originally some sort of decorative object indeed from pre-Columbian times, but then reworked later into the shape of a skull.

Two crystal skulls made their way to Paris in the 1870s via their collector Eugene Boban who brought them from Mexico to sell in a shop in Paris. Boban bought another larger skull while in Paris. He claimed the skulls were of Aztec origin, and no one could prove otherwise. In addition to the small skulls, a life size crystal skull showed up in Paris in 1881, also belonging to Boban. This skull was eventually sold to the British Museum. In 1934, another life-size skull showed up in the possession of an art dealer. This one was almost exactly the same as the British Museum skull. Some of these skulls have mysterious qualities attached to them, such as strange lights coming from the eyes.

As interesting as the premise is that these skulls are ancient and from Aztec or Mayan origin, there's absolutely no proof. Archaeologists even dispute that the style is nothing like the art styles of these cultures. Even though skulls, or death heads as they are called, did feature prominently in these cultures, the accurate and realistic style of the crystal skulls just doesn't fit. In the Aztec culture, skulls have been found carved out of basalt or mounted into walls. Archaeologists have never found a quartz crystal skull during any excavations.

So, while the history of these incredible crystal skulls is mysterious, it appears that they were indeed manufactured in the 1800s, rather than by the ancient Aztecs or Mayans. Perhaps then, the crystal skulls really do belong in a Hollywood Movie.