The crystal skulls
In 1927 an archaeological expedition goes into the jungles of Belize to study some Mayan ruins. The expedition is led by Frederick A. Mitchell-Edges, archaeologist, explorer, gambler, and adventurer. His passion for pre-Columbian civilizations had led him to explore Central America in search of traces of ancient civilizations. In his travels he had met an orphan Ann le Guillon, and legally adopted her. The expedition had unearthed the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, Lubaantum.
During these excavations a unique object was discovered. It weighed 5.19 kilograms, was 13 centimeters tall, just as wide, and 18 centimeters long. It was a skull carved from a single piece of pure transparent rock crystal with beautiful veins. The eyes were in the shape of a prism; the skull, however, was missing its jawbone, which was not found until several months later. The natives recognized in the crystal an ancient deity with enormous power, that of healing disease. But it also carried with it a serious curse. When the expedition left town, the natives gave the skull to Mitchell as a token of friendship. All this is recounted in Ann Mitchell-Edges' book, a book that leaves several questions: why is Ann not shown in the photos of the expedition? What kind of deity was the one depicted by the skull?
Ann was at the time of the find 17 years old; in her book she claims that she was the one who found the skull.
We may or may not consider the story of the skull's discovery reliable, but one thing is for sure, it is an uncommon object. In his book "Danger My Ally" Mike Edges wrote "We also brought with us the sinister Skull of Destiny about which much has been written. I have good reasons for not revealing how this object came into my possession. The Skull of Destiny is made of pure rock crystal and, according to scientists, took the work of one hundred and fifty years to complete; generations after generations devoted all the days of their lives to patiently grinding the huge block of crystal from which a perfect skull was carved. The piece dates back at least three thousand six hundred years. According to legend, it was used by the great priest of the Maya to perform esoteric rites. Apparently, when the priest invoked death by means of the skull, there was no doubt that death came. It has been described as the representation of evil, but I do not wish to explain this phenomenon."
According to scholars, the working of the skull may have been done by slow erosion with water and sand done by skilled craftsmen who would have taken precisely one hundred and fifty years to finish their work. But for what purpose would at least four generations have accomplished such work?
Ann Mitchell's find does not remain unique for long. Other similar skulls are unearthed. In London's Museum of Mankind (a section of the British Museum) there is an equally valuable work: a skull whose workmanship is attributed to the Aztec culture of the early colonial period. Nothing is actually known about the origin of this skull except that it was purchased by the museum in 1898 from Tiffany, the well-known New York jeweler. Some claim that the skull was part of the loot of an unspecified nineteenth-century mercenary, but unfortunately there is a lack of further details on the story. It is said that by looking intently at its orbits, one could glimpse horrible moving figures.... Simple suggestion? A play on reflections? Probably. Ann's skull also possesses the same powers, so much so that it is kept wrapped in purple cloth. Both skulls appear to be made by the same hand and with the same crystal, but such crystal, according to scholars, is not found in Mexico. Is it therefore a fake? Or is its origin due to a still unknown civilization?
But as we have said there are other similar skulls, one is preserved at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and another at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, while those belonging to private collections include those of Jo-Ann Parks, "psychic detective" Nick Nocerino and Creole aristocrat Norma Redo.
All the skulls possess the same characteristics and powers. Did they serve as an initiation by confronting the observer with his or her innermost fears? Or to keep the faithful subjugated to the fear of death?
According to one legend, the skulls are thirteen in number and destined to come together to begin a new era on a date currently set for December 21, 2012, which is the end of the Long Count of the Mayan calendar that began on August 13, 3114 BCE.
We do not know whether this legend has any basis in truth, and we do not pretend to delve into assumptions and calculations of doubtful utility.
It is true, however, that if for a single skull a workmanship of one hundred and fifty years had been estimated, for thirteen skulls the time expands enormously. One wonders who on earth would have had an interest in taking so long to create such artifacts and what purpose drove him in such workmanship.
Perhaps there is an answer. The museum in Oaxaca preserves an object found a short distance from the city. A solid gold necklace depicting a skull-headed deity on which are engraved symbols, glyphs of Mixtec origin. For some it would be a date (that of the legend?), according to writer Von Daeniken it would be an electrical circuit. But who could have given the Aztecs or Mayans such advanced notions? Extraterrestrials? Or an older civilization? "In Central America, the colonies of Lemuria thrived for thousands of years and maintained the culture of the mother country long after the destruction of Mu" (Extraterrestrials and Missing Civilizations - Armenia, 1974)
The only answer may or may come to us in 2012, the year when our destiny is supposed to be marked by a planetary turning point.
Is this perhaps the task of the skull and from which it takes its name? To remind us of our destiny, our mortality?
