As I began to research the subject of crystal skulls I came to a realization that this was a subject that was very complex but very interesting. The longer that I studied the different layers of this subject the more I became convinced that perhaps there was something to this. Perhaps the crystal skulls are special. Maybe they do have something to tell us.

We've all seen crystal skulls. Some of us even own one or more of them. Most of these skulls are newly made (within the last 500 years or so). This does not take away from their beauty or their ability to serve as windows into other times or dimensions or even the future. The skulls I would like to take a look at here are the ones that are said to be from the ancient past. Their origin is so lost in the mists of time that no one really knows for sure where they came from. There is a legend passed on from the indigenous peoples of the Americas that tells of 13 skulls will one day come together to save the world from catastrophe. The most well known of these legend's come from the Mayan peoples. I will cover this legend in more detail in my next hub but right now I would like to introduce the skulls. 

The first three skulls on my list have been found to be modern carvings. It's believed that they were carved in Germany sometime in the last 100-200 years. I am including them simply because they are so well known.

The British skull was purchased from Tiffany and Co New York. in 1897. It is said to have to belonged to a Mexican officer and sold in 1863 to an art dealer by the name of Boban. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Boban. Apparently he was accused of selling fakes. The British skull is a life sized carving made from a single block of rock crystal. Tests run on the skull in the 1990's showed that there had been extensive use of a rotary tool in its creation. This would make the skull post-Colombian since rotary tools were not known to be used until then.Also the crystal itself was believed to be from Brazil, a source not used in pre-Colombian craving.

The Smithsonian Institute skull was received in 1992 as a donation from an anonymous source. It is larger than life standing a full 10 inches high and weighting an incredible 31 pounds.It is carved from a solid piece of milky-hued quartz and is completely hollow inside. The skull was tested along with the British skull and was also found to be created using a rotary tool. It is believed to have been carved in Mexico in the 1950's.

Recently archaeologist have discovered a pair of obsidian ear spools that were wafer thin and perfectly circular. They could only have been made using a rotary tool and yet they are known to date back the Aztec/Mixtec period. Most definitely pre-Colombian. This new information may change the decisions made about the age of these two skulls.

In 1869 the Museum of Man in Paris acquired a crystal skull. It too was made of a solid piece of clear quartz. The skull stands about 4 inches tall and has a hole in the top of its head where,at one time, a cross had been inserted. This seemed to be a popular practice with some of the smaller skulls. For instance, Norma Redo owns a beautiful reliquary cross that has been inserted into the top of a pre-Colombian skull. The skull has been proven to be pre-Colombian but the hole drilled into the head to hold the cross is post-Colombian work. In 2007-08 the Paris Museum tested their skull and determined that it was made in the late 19TH century. This skull is also said to have been purchased from the annique salesman Boban.

 The following is a list of the ancient crystal skulls. An ancient skull can be anywhere from 5,000 to 36,00 years old and have not been made using modern tools. Could these be the skulls that the prophecies speak of?

This is the most famous of the skulls. Reported to be found in 1924 by Anna Mitchell-Hedges, 17 year old daughter of F.A. Mitchell-Hedges, this skull is the size of a small human head 5 inches high, 7 inches long and 5 inches wide.It is made from the clearest quartz crystal and is made all in one piece. Even the removable bottom jaw was created from the exact piece of crystal that belonged there in the natural rock.

Anna told the story of how on her 17Th birthday she climbed to the top of a Mayan temple at Lubaantun, Belize where her father was conducting a dig searching for evidence of Atlantis. Below her was a breathtaking view of the area except that something kept reflecting the bright summer sun into her eyes. Looking for the source of the reflection she discovered an opening underneath a collapsed altar. Inside she saw a shining object. After 3 days of digging the workers had made a hole big enough for Anna to be lowered down on a rope to the cavern below to fetch the object. She was able to retrieve it. And so began the odyssey of the Mitchell-Hedges crystal Skull.

There is a lot more to this story but one of the more interesting things to me is that in 1970 the skull was brought to Hewlett-Packard Laboratories to be tested. They found that it had been carved against the natural axis of the crystal! Carving natural crystal against the grain like this ,even with modern high tech or laser tools, would more than likely shatter it. So how was this done? There are several theories but the fact is that no one really knows. Also there were no microscopic scratches found on the crystal so no metal tool was used to create the skull.

Another interesting fact about the skull is that the crystal is of a type that is called piezo-electric silicon dioxide. This is the type of naturally occurring quartz that is used in most electronics and has a positive and negative polarity. Crystal has the ability to hold electrical energy. It also oscillates at a constant and precise frequency. This means that it is actually possible for the skull to hold electrical energy, information, and send out electrical impulses or vibrating waves of information. The skull also has an optical axis meaning that the light travels quicker through the skull one direction than another. When light is applied below the skull it will channel that light up through the eye sockets.

There is a lot more to this story but that is a whole book by itself. I believe the best place to find out more about the Mitchell-Hedges skull would be the official website at http://www.mitchell-hedges.com/.

The Amethyst Skull and the Mayan Skull were found at the same time in1912 in Oaxaca area of Mexico  and Guatemala respectively. Ami the amethyst skull is believed to either have belonged to President Diaz of Mexico or to have belonged to an order of Mayan  Priests that handed the skull down through many generations.  It is believed to be well over 1500 years old. Ami resurfaced around 1979 when a Mayan Priest/Shaman,Francisco Reyes, brought the skull to the US. The skull is made from a solid piece of amethyst crystal and is a deep purple in color.

Little is known about the Mayan Skull except that it was found in Guatemala and brought to the US in1979 by the same Mayan Priest, Francisco Reyes. The skull is made of clear quartz and weights about 9 pounds.

The Laboratory at Hewlett-Packard (woh previously tested the Mitchell-Hedges Skull) carried out research on both the Amethyst skull and the Mayan skull and concluded that no modern tools were used to carve either of them.Like the Mitchell-Hedges Skull  both of these skulls were carved against the natural axis, authenticating them as being Ancient skulls.

The Amethyst skull belongs to a group of businessmen in California and is for sale for $1 million dollars.  The whereabouts of the Mayan skull are unknown.

E.T is a smokey quartz crystal skull believed to have been found in 1906 by a family in Guatemala while excavating a Mayan Temple. Named E.T. because of the pointed cranium and exaggerated overbite that resembles the skull of an alien. The skull now belongs to Joke(pronounced Hoka) Van Dietan in Miami, Florida.

 Max is believed to be the largest of the ancient skulls (believed to be around 5,000 to 36,000 years old). He weights in at a whopping 18 pounds. Thought to have to originated in Guatemala, Max made his way to Texas with a Tibetan Spiritualist/Healer named Norbu Chen. For many years Max was involved in healing. Then before Norbu Chen died he passed Max on to JoAnn Parks of Houston,Texas. Ms. Parks travels all over with Max -- he is very active in healing. To read the very inspiring story of Max I would suggest this link http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/maxcs.html .

Synergy was acquired approximately 25 years ago by a European businessman by the name of George. He was traveling through Central and South America when he came to a tiny village in the Andes. There an old man gave him an ancient crystal skull. In 2001 George came to America to show his custom jewelry line. At this show he meant a jewelry buyer by the name of Sherry Whitfield Merrell. George felt compelled to give Ms. Merrell the skull,something he could not really explain. Ms. Merrell was very hesitant to take the skull so chose to "sleep on it". When she returned the next day she found that George was still in the same frame of mind. Ms. Merrell became the new caretaker of the skull that she named Synergy because of it's incredible energy. Synergy weights 15.5 LBS. and is said to modeled after a real human skull.

The official website for Synergy is http://www.crystal-skull.com/ .

 Both these skulls were found in 1995 in the Guerro Provence of Mexico by Nick Nocerino using "psychic archeology". The Rainbow Skull is made from a single piece of clear quartz crystal weighting 9 LBS.  Named Rainbow by its owner DaEI Walker because of the rainbow of colors dancing through the skull when in natural light.

Sha-Na-Ra belongs to the family of Nick Nocerino since he passed and is a primitive looking quartz skull,white opaque with a yellow tinge weighting 13 Lbs. 3 oz. Nick Noceino was a pioneer in the field of crystal skull research. He was also the first to use "psychic archeology". Mr. Nocerino also established the Crystal Skull Society International.

 There is said to be a rose quartz skull that was found near the border of Honduras and Guatemala. It is larger than the Mitchell-Hedges skull but resembles it with a comparable level of workmanship including the removable mandible. Made of a single piece of rose quartz and is pink in color.

There are rumours of other skulls in South America. One belongs to a family in Argentina who claim to have a skull like the Mitchell-Hedges skull but they will not go public for fear that the skull will be stolen.

There is another skull said to be in the northern part of Peru. The skull is rumoured to be made of a single piece of clear quartz that contains blue inclusions both in the eyes and on the top of the head.

Are these the skulls that legend speaks of? I certainly don't know the answer to that but I do believe that the skulls have abilities that we aren't really aware of yet.

This list of links are some that I found to be the most helpful.

http://www.crystalskulls.com/index.html

http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_6_1.htm

http://www.crystalinks.com/crystalskulls.html