The crystal skull raised a lot of questions, as it is so highly polished that no instruments in the 1970s could detect tool marks, and because crystal contains no carbon, no other method of dating it could be found. It is carved out of one piece of crystal quartz and has magnetic qualities as all crystal quartz does. It is a very intriguing object. And not the only one: three other crystal skulls were also thought to be ancient, though of Aztec origin: one in the British Museum, one in the Louvre, and one in the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian crystal skull became the focus of curator Jane MacLaren Walsh’s interest, as she tried to establish its authenticity as an ancient object.
Walsh’s part of the story is a little less gripping than the one Anna Mitchell-Hedges spins, but it is interesting to see how much detective work is instrumental in archeology. Walsh soon established that the skulls in the Louvre and British Museum came from the same French dealer in antiquities, and, with the aid of the British Museum and an electron microscope not available in the 1970s, that both skulls have modern tool marks which place their manufacture in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The crystal probably was carved in Europe. The Smithsonian skull proved to be of even more recent manufacture.
In a gesture of goodwill, The Skull of Doom’s owner, Bill Homann, companion to the late Anna Mitchell-Hedges, allowed Walsh to test it under the electron microscope. By this point in the show, it is no surprise that this skull too shows modern tool marks that place it around the 1930s in origin, several years after Anna said she found it.
However, the documentary wisely does not strip the skull of all its mystery. Homann continues to believe in its alien origin, as he does not think the technology of its manufacture was available at the time Walsh believes it was made. And Walsh is happy to point out we still don’t know who made the skulls or why, and probably never will.
The Legend of the Crystal Skulls is a pleasing blend of legend, detective story, and scientific investigation, and it manages to look behind the myth without stripping the skull of its mystery. The program runs 46 minutes, retails for $14.98 and was released on October 14.
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