Indiana Jones and the Real Crystal Skulls

Indiana Jones is at it again. After 19 years he is back for a new adventure. In this newest film he is on the trail of the illusive crystal skulls. As with all episodes in the Indiana Jones series there is a hint of historical accuracy behind the archeology he pursues. So with this in mind do the crystal skulls exist?

Some say the crystal skulls are real. That there are thirteen of them, and when brought together they will reveal all truths. The actual legend states that thirteen skulls were left by an advanced race, perhaps from space, to the Atlanteans. As Atlantis fell the Atlanteans left them to the Maya.

The skulls held special powers. When they were placed together they told the origins of humankind, as well as how humanity could avoid catastrophes in the future.

This legend also plays into the Mayan calendar. The Mayan calendar begins on August 13, 3114 B.C. and stops on December 21, 2012. Believers state that this is the end of the world.

When taken together these two legends create a tremendous amount of interest. It is easy to see why Indiana Jones would be in pursuit of them.

What of the legend of the crystal skulls? Well the skulls began appearing in the mid-1800s. Explorers started returning from south and central America with them. Antiquities dealers started offering them for sale. Museums started acquiring them for their collections.

The most famous crystal skull belonged to an Englishman named Fredrick Arthur Mitchell-Hedges. He possessed a magnificent crystal skull which was exquisite in detail and design.

Mitchell-Hedges claimed that while on expedition in Belize in 1924 his then 17 year old daughter discovered the relic. Anna Mitchell-Hedges was said to have found the skull under a collapsed alter in a temple. She vividly described how she was lowered by rope into a scorpion filled chamber, and how the skull looked at first sight.

However, records show that Mitchell-Hedges purchased the skull for $400.00 in 1943 from Sothebys in London. In explaining this discrepancy to his story Mitchell-Hedges said he had loaned the skull to a friend, it ended up at auction, and he paid to have it returned. This explanation was held by Anna, until her death in 2007. Anna maintained possession of the skull until her death, bequeathing it to a Bill Homann. Homann operates a web site, mitchell-hedges.com, chronicling the Mitchell-Hedges skull.

Over the years Anna publicly displayed the skull. Shirley MacLaine and Peter O'Toole both were given private viewings. She even lent the skull to the Hewlett Packard corporation to run tests on it. The test could not explain how the skull could have been carved in ancient times without benefit from modern tools. In addition , using modern tools the skull would have taken at least a year to carve.

Are the crystals skulls real or fake? Jane MacLaren Walsh, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History , has been studying the legend of the crystal skulls for the past 17 years.

In the current issue of Archeology magazine, she points to the fact that most of the skulls currently held in museums have been declared fakes. Albeit rather good ones. This is based upon evidence showing modern lapidary equipment had been used in their creation.

True believers will counter these findings by stating the skulls were carved by a long lost race or society. That the carvers possessed technology equal to if not greater than our own.

So , who is right? Will the truth of the crystal skulls ever come to light?

Perhaps this latest Indiana Jones adventure will create a renewed interest in uncovering the mystery surrounding the thirteen crystal skulls.

Resources: http://www.archeology.org/0805/etc.indy.html, http://www.crystalskulls.us/cskull.htm, http://www.en.epochtimes.com/news/5-8-21/31477.html