The Mitchell-Hedges Skull

From: The outer rim (shut down but website remains)

Certainly the most famous of a mysterious group of carved crystal skulls, it is also the most contentious. Rumor and suspicion have followed the skull since it’s ‘discovery’ in the early half of this century, leaving a dubious pedigree that cannot be proven, and an object which can not be explained. A faithful replica of a human skull, including a hinged, movable jaw, the skull is a masterpiece of the stone-carver's art. If it was indeed carved by a pre-industrial society it ranks among the most amazing objects ever produced in ancient times.

Unfortunately, the skull’s origin is very much in question. Named after British explorer F.A. Mitchell-Hedges, the single piece of clear quartz crystal was purportedly discovered among the ruins of a Mayan temple in Lubaantun, Belize. (Central America.) According to Mitchell-Hedge’s accounts, his daughter found the upper half of the skull during a 1924 expedition. The jaw was discovered two months later, approximately 25 feet away. While this is a romantic tale, the story is almost certainly false. Mitchell-Hedges produced no documentation concerning the remarkable find, nor were any photographs taken of it during the expedition. More damning, records exist suggesting the explorer actually purchased the skull at a Southby’s auction in 1943.

It should be noted that the skull’s current owner, Anna Mitchell-Hedges, the daughter who supposedly discovered the artifact, still maintains the original story. However, her involvement in the 1924 expedition, if she participated at all, remains doubtful. This controversy, while providing fuel for wild speculation ranging from Atlantians to extra-terrestrials, makes the skull practically worthless from an archeological viewpoint. Without verifiable proof of origin, the skull remains little more than a curiosity.

What then is the actual nature of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull? Few facts are available. Measuring five inches in height by seven inches in length, the skull weighs 11.7 pounds. The upper half of the skull and the removable jaw were apparently carved from a single piece of nearly transparent quartz crystal. Polished to a mirror smoothness, the skull shows no blemishes beyond microscopic scratches. Similar scratches on other, nearly identical, crystal skulls provide the strongest evidence that the skull is neither ancient nor of Central American craftsmanship. The marks resemble scratches left by nineteenth century polishing wheels widely in use, especially in Germany. These faint traces, many experts contend, point to the skull having been created no earlier than 150 years ago.

This explanation, however, raises more questions than it answers. While it is easy to shrug off the enigmatic artifacts as nineteenth century forgeries, the fact is the skulls could not have been produced using the technology available at the time. Quartz crystal, due to the symmetrical alignment of its atoms, is never carved ‘against the grain.’ Modern artisans are careful to carve along the crystal’s axis. Failure to do so inevitably leads to the crystal shattering during the cutting. And yet, laboratory analysis of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull show that it was, remarkably, carved against the grain. Not only was this impossible in the 1800s, it is impossible today. Even with sophisticated laser technology and modern cutting tools, an object the size of the skull could not be cut against the grain. How then were the skulls produced? No one knows.

While most of the small collection of known skulls remains in private hands, the Mitchell-Hedges Skull has been studied under laboratory conditions. During 1970, under the supervision of art restorer Frank Dorland, the skull was loaned to the Hewlett-Packard Labs in Santa Clara, California. Long a leader in crystal research, the labs seemed the perfect location to study the artifact. Yet, after extensive analysis, few, if any, questions were resolved. No indication of either the age or the origin of the skull could be discerned. Dorland did discover, however, that the shape of the skull provides a variety of prisms and light passages, and that when subjected to light from beneath, the skull lit up “like it was on fire.”

The other skulls which have surfaced over the years bear striking resemblance to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull, though few are as well formed or meticulously detailed. Approximately thirteen of the skulls are known to exist, (the number varies according to whose count is used,) and while some are larger, none are as striking as the Mitchell-Hedges. Often, the other examples lack anatomical details, especially around the teeth, and only one other example has a hinged jaw. Likewise, the shape of the other artifacts often exhibit distorted proportions, being either elongated or flattened from the human norm. While some claim these distortions as ‘proof’ of the skulls extra-terrestrial nature, it is most likely the result of the artist trying to craft the skull from the unwieldy dimensions of the crystal itself.

Claims of healing powers, computer-like data storage, and even disembodied spirits trapped within the artifacts have forever linked the crystal skulls, for better or worse, to the occult.

Theories abound, but facts are few. Until a new skull is either unearthed in situ, or, if forgeries, the perpetrators of the hoax are uncovered, the skulls will forever remain a mystery.

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