Crystal skull
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A crystal skull is a model of a human skull made out of clear quartz crystal. There are 13 crystal skulls worldwide which some say have mystical powers and are of uncertain ancient origin. New skulls carved from crystal are made and sold regularly.
People who believe in the psychic power of crystal skulls say that the skulls are a center of radiant psychic energy and have the power to increase happiness and improve people's lives just by being held, handled and spoken with; others have suggested that crystal skulls can be used like crystal balls, to aid divination.
The healing and supernatural powers of crystal skulls have never been scientifically established. The scientific community at large has found no evidence of any unusual phenomena associated with the skulls nor any reason for further investigation.
Mitchell-Hedges Skull
Perhaps the best-known crystal skull, the Mitchell-Hedges skull, is currently in the possession of Anna Mitchell-Hedges. Her father F.A. Mitchell-Hedges, was an adventurer who dabbled in amateur archaeology who specialized in the ancient civilizations of Latin America and the study of Atlantis (a rumored sunken civilization thought mythical by most archaeologists).
F.A. Mitchell-Hedges claimed to have found the skull in a cave on one of his expeditions to Lubaantun, but his detractors insist that he bought it at an auction at Sotheby's. The salesmen at Sotheby's apparently got it from owners in Germany.
Mitchell-Hedges, and a few others, claim that the skull is too intricate and flawless a carving to have been made hurriedly in recent years, and insist that the skull must have been carved over decades in the distant past in Atlantis. One inspector of a skull reportedly estimated that this work of crystal would require 200 years for humans to make. Mitchell-Hedges himself declared that the skull took 150 years to make and was 3,600 years old, although he offered no sources or reasons for these dates.
Critics of Mitchell-Hedges's speculations reply that modern technology has provided many ways for skillful artisans to produce sculptures with relative ease: furthermore, as virtually all historians and scientists agree that there is no evidence of a lost Atlantean civilization, these critics denounce the suggestion that the skull was carved in at Atlantis as wishful thinking.
Recent research has shown that the skull held by the British Museum was carved using jeweler's equipment developed in the 19th century, making a supposed pre-Columbian origin even more dubious.
External links
- Crystal Skulls on crystalinks.com (http://www.crystalinks.com/crystalskulls.html)
- Article on British Museum skull from The Independent (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=598446)