The (channel) five documentary “Revealed” that ran on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 (repeated on June 29), titled “Legend of The Crystal Skulls” was – alas – another documentary trying to offer bogus revelations, in obvious efforts to make the documentary more than it was. At a time when dozens of documentaries are done on the skull, it is hard for lower-budget productions to get sold and hype is often the preferred method of the sales pitch. Alas, it is a sign of our times that television makers feel their documentaries need to be the absolute this, or absolute that – when it isn’t by a long shot.
We feel particularly aggrieved by the documentary makers’ depiction of Anna Mitchell-Hedges as a liar, which they somehow felt necessary to hammer home the point they hoped to make. But it is particularly annoying to see how throughout the length of the documentary, there were dozens of inaccuracies and false claims. Jane Walsh herself is probably not all too pleased either by the words put in her mouth, namely that she was the one that uncovered the 1943 Sotheby sale records for the skull, or the implied references to the MAN 1936 article discovery.

The gravest of errors committed by the documentary is that it accepted the false premise that pre-Columbian cultures did not have any tools to make the skulls. It is none other than Michael Coe who has said this statement should not be taken as dogma, yet it is precisely that which several researchers, whether Jane Walsh, Margaret Sax, or television producers such as those making this documentary, hold. It is similar to the stance archaeologists have held – and largely continue to hold – that earthquakes have never been responsible for the demise of cities or civilisations, whereas there is overwhelming scientific evidence that they are. But denial…
Furthermore, the full verdict of the Hewlett-Packard and British Museum claims – both of whom did extensive testing on the skulls, unlike the few hours Walsh has spent with the skull – were not all fully put together and explained, as if they did not matter.

However, there is worse. This picture shows to what length a director or editor will go to support arguments by false imagery.

They who accuse Mike and Anna Mitchell-Hedges of falsifying their evidence have fallen into their own trap. Thomas Gann has been airbrushed out of the original picture and it was actually he, not Mitchell-Hedges, who used the dynamite. Mitchell-Hedges favoured the method of burning back the vegetation as it was so dense… Dynamite was – however much modern archaeologists seem to hate it – a method their predecessors used to excavate with.
Unless we are accused of inventing these claims, we quote what was said about Gann: “He couldn’t get into the temples very easily and was wondering what was in the centre and the easiest thing was to blow it up,” says Mas. “Perhaps that’s why they named the site the falling stones. Everything collapsed and he didn’t find anything. It’s a shame.”
www.atlanticcallcentres.ca/comment/columnists/article/196456
Then there is Harvard University’s R.E. Merwin who visited the site in 1914 and made off with three priceless ball-court markers, which are now on display in Harvard’s Peabody Museum. It seems Mitchell-Hedges was an amateur – derived from the Latin word for “love” – in the true sense of the word, and no other sense.

The end conclusion is therefore simple: the producers have tampered with copyrighted material to suit their own case, in the most circumspect of manners: in this case the villain was airbrushed out and the one man left standing was to blame alongside his so called “bankroll”!
Furthermore, Lady Richmond-Brown was not twisted into coming on the trip; she was diagnosed with cancer and in that respect, as Mitchell-Hedges put it, “had nothing to loose”. She did return for a second visit, but was too ill for the third. She wrote her own book (Unknown Tribes Uncharted Seas), as did Jane Harvey Houlson (Blue Blaze). Both were ecstatic from their experiences with Mitchell-Hedges, but such supportive evidence was not used in the documentary.

Though we understand that documentaries want to provide a lot of airtime to scientists, in the case of Jane Walsh, we need to underline she is not an expert on Mitchell-Hedges, nor has she ever met Anna. Many of her statements as made in this documentary are personal assumptions and not firm facts themselves. Walsh gets the meeting of Sammy & Mitchell-Hedges off track and makes a yea or nay “assumption” that she had been adopted by Mitchell-Hedges. She was adopted and the papers were filed in Panama. While Mitchell Hedges retuned to the UK he “sometimes” left Anna with an English family on the island of Taboga in the Bay of Panama.
Jane Walsh also says the Anna was short of money after her father died. The man was a millionaire and was very good at pirating and hiding his wealth, as he did most of his personal information! We need to remember that the 1920s were far different than today, and jungle tribes did not accept VISA, nor could one quickly transfer money from England to Mexico or elsewhere, if needed as a matter of urgency.
It has taken years to piece together most of his life from archive material that has lain around in old trunks for many a dusty year. In a letter dated May 1944 (i.e. during World War II) he tells one of his brothers that he has the largest single collection of silver in the UK… one hundred and fifty thousands ounces of silver and not a piece older than 1819. That is 4.18 tonnes, with the majority dated to between 1600 and 1780.
The 1960 B/W BBC film ( a very short clip of a greater viewing of the silver was shown in the channel five documentary) showing Anna displaying all the Mitchell-Hedges silver collection was in itself a mass of brilliant display of opulence and wealth. When you add it up it comes to over £200,000, which is a lot of money in those days. Anna broke? Definitely not so!

The documentary also has several factual errors. The Sotheby’s sale was not reported correctly: Mitchell-Hedges did buy the Crystal Skull at auction for £400, outbidding the British Museum. It was reported in the daily newspaper of the time. Also in a letter to his brother in December 1943 he states: “‘The Collection’ grows and grows. You possibly saw in the papers that I acquired that amazing Crystal Skull that was formally in the ‘Sydney Burney collection’. It is fashioned from a single block of rock crystal, exactly life size. Scientist put it at around 1800 BC and they estimate that it took five generations passing from father to son to complete. It is anthropologically perfect in every detail. A superb piece of craftsmanship. There is only one other in the world like it which is in the British Museum, and it is acknowledge not to be as fine as this”.
In another letter he says “this is one item that no amount of money will induce me to sell and I have had three American museums trying [...] The Anthropological journal Man has nearly devoted an entire issue to it.” In the same letter he refers to the Skull as being “world famous”. So why, when he is totally open, does he write in his book “I have reasons for not revealing” … unless he wants you to look deeper?

There are two very obvious opportunities missed here that in themselves present a mystery. The Crystal Skull was in an auction that was totally out of character with its genre. Also, Mitchell-Hedges, the art collector, had no interest at all in crystals or any artefacts of that nature, but nevertheless had to go to London very early by train and bid for it. Why does a man whose sole interest is in silver suddenly switch tracks and go for a unique piece of crystal in a furniture sale where all other items are “Chinese Porcelain - Needlework & Furniture - Important Oriental Rugs”? Unless, of course, it is as Anna said, and it was because her father was greatly surprised to learn that his Skull was placed at auction and had to react quickly to get it back.
Furthermore, there is suggestion in the documentary that Mitchell-Hedges had no prior knowledge of crystal skulls. If that were the case, then what to make of the references in his only book of fiction “White Tiger”, published in 1931 (i.e. 13 years prior to the auction), where he speaks of “Crystal Heads” as part of the Treasure of the Aztecs? This information was passed to Picturefilms, the producers of this documentary, who decided not to use this evidence. If that avenue was explored, it might have been a documentary of genuine interest, rather than the bogus revelations dished up instead.

Finally, the documentary’s conclusions were muddled in the extreme. It is a known fact that the skull existed in 1934 (as indicated in the MAN 1936 article that was used in the documentary), yet the documentary seems to allege that in 1924 the technology did not exist to create this skull, when Anna said she had found the skull – begging the question what precisely changed, technology or otherwise, between 1924 and 1934. Some viewers also came away with the impression that the documentary seemed to be arguing the skull was made in the 1950s, which is of course preposterous. In short, the documentary conclusions had all the hallmarks of one-liners, strung together in a muddled manner, so that the holes in the argument might not be seen by the viewer. We hope the viewer is more intelligent…

Time to Leave

Rising slowly to my feet, I felt connected to the earth by strong vibrations. Walking carefully, I felt I was treading on pincushions! The black velvet night shocked my body with its December chill. Settling into the passenger seat of the car, I quickly performed my “cool down” exercises from Tai Chi class so as to ground my energy and settle my soul which was wild with joy and wonder. Vibrations painted a day and night to remember.

Vision!

Bedtime settled over me like a warm quilt, dreamless sleep enveloped me. About four in the morning, I had a dream vision. The colors and energy were so vivid I awoke with a start! Even waking up could not fade the neon bright image. I had “received” a painting I had to materialize!
The skull image in the center of the vision burned into my consciousness. Looking straight at the skull, it was smiling – though some perceive the skull as female and some feel androgynous energy. The skull radiated neon white and the sunburst around it was vibrant yellow, hurting my eyes. Energy intense rose light appeared, framing the edges of the canvas. Rose is the color of unconditional love.
I lay awake for quite awhile. I knew, with the right timing and energy, I would paint the skull.

Pieces of Rainbows!

Some days later, I talked to my daughter by phone. I did not tell her about the adventure. I wanted her to be surprised!
“Mom, the other day while I practiced Tai Chi, I got rainbows! I knew you were sending them.” We often send and receive thoughts, colors, and images back and forth. “But they weren’t like regular rainbows, they were cut-up ones like someone took a scissors and cut them into random sizes!” I smiled, knowing those were images I had seen reflected in the skull.
“How bright were they?” I questioned.
“Oh, they were very bright, like neon color!” she answered.
I realized that these rainbows had been sent out unconsciously and not directly to my daughter. She tuned into the frequency band, and picked up the brilliantly painted images.

Painting the Vision

Months later, gripping my favorite ancient worn bristle brush was like picking up a magic sword. Today, the energy felt just right for painting. As I lifted the sword-brush, I felt intense vibrations streaming into me like lifting my sword for Tai Chi practice. I felt like I was in the presence of the skull itself. I had never had such an intense experience while painting. I prayed to my legions of angels to help me create and guide the brush. How would I paint the skull? With a lot of help!
I stood to paint, poised over the canvas, rotating the brush silently above the canvas without touching it. Picking up spiritual energy from the universe to translate it into solid color, I felt like a Zen calligrapher/painter, picking up vibrational guidelines ready to paint over invisible images and energy. Could I transmit and translate the healing feeling I felt?
I dipped the brush boldly into the titanium white and a smudge of cobalt blue. Its worn, uneven bristles crunched. Tracing over unseen light, I circled in the outline of the skull, a memory from my vision-dream. Slashing the strokes like a Tai Chi sword in action, the skull began to take shape. Picking up vibrant yellow, I stroked timidly around the aura the skull emitted. The yellow faded paler on the canvas than in my vision. I let the color paint itself. Rose light was next in bold slashes outward from the image to frame the edges.
Something mysterious happened. The bright paint whirled out from the skull, not in slashes, but in circles! I knew the otherworld was painting through me! I silently “heard” the hum again as the brush circled. White paint swirls completed circling around the edges, tying the image together like a birthday present. I signed my name. I quit!

Many years later, I saw the results of the photon camera photographs that had been done by the Seraphim Institute of the crystal skull and realized that they were surprisingly like my intuitive painting.

Meeting Anna Mitchell-Hedges

The phone rang. It was a friend coming to call and bringing Anna Mitchell-Hedges with him. What excitement! Angel paintings surrounded the skull image on the stone mantel. Anna, then ninety-five years old, entered and hugged me. We all sat down excitedly, and I showed the skull painting. Anna loved it.

The skull radiates love. Anna’s peaceful, joyful presence is like the energy of the skull itself. Someone commented that in one of the skull’s eyes “I” had painted the pupil in a heart shape.
I tried to photograph this energetic skull painting, but the pictures were cloudy. All the other paintings on the role of film were perfect. Vision or experience? Which is more powerful? I named the painting Crystal Vision.

Dahlis Roy

CHAPTER XVI
THE TREASURE OF THE AZTECS

LATER the White Tiger learned that there was no mystery in the disappearance of his Indians. Too terror-stricken to utter a sound, they had been led away by the silent-footed Maya while he was engrossed in his thoughts. They were taken care of in another part of the city—only the high priest, his personal attendants and the White Tiger occupying this section of the citadel, which was sacred to those initiated into the higher mysteries of their religion.
Undisturbed, cut off from the world, all these strange people had their appointed work. To some was allotted the task of keeping the space round the city clear, and the buildings in good repair. Others devoted their lives to astronomy and mathematics, in which sciences they excelled. They had evolved a calendric system more perfect than our present Gregorian. It had started on a date 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, synchronising with our date 3373 B.C. and had functioned without the loss of a single day from that remote period up to the present.
As the days lengthened into weeks the White Tiger learned much ; their language and customs—religion—and even more than this. He gained a knowledge, though only slight, of the occult.
The mystery of how they had known of his coming—even the exact time of his arrival—and had prepared accordingly to receive him, he could never solve. Neither could he ever ‘ understand how they moved gigantic blocks of stone weighing many tons. Over this a veil of secrecy was drawn. That in some fashion they were cognisant of events taking place in the outside world, was certain. That they practised esoteric rites, and could employ light-rays, he was convinced. He suspected strongly that the secret of levitation, or suspension of gravity locally, was known to the higher adepts. Why they chose to withhold their knowledge, and why they withheld their power from the world was a mystery known only to themselves.
Quick at languages, he rapidly mastered the Maya tongue; and then one morning the High Priest announced that the time had arrived for his initiation. He explained there must be a public ceremony, that before all the assembled Maya he should be proclaimed king in the ancient custom. His coming had been foretold by the gods, who had commanded that he should be obeyed. Further, it was decreed that the vast treasure entrusted to the Maya by the last of the Aztecs should be placed in his keeping.
The gods had spoken. When the moon was at its full the ceremony of coronation should take place.
And so it came to pass. Not a cloud marred the beauty of the night when the White Tiger, dressed from head to foot in a long embroidered garment and wearing the royal mask and towering head-dress, passed along the white roadway between the pyramids. Behind followed the priests, nobles and lesser orders, whilst last of all came the women. A few hundred in all—a pitiful handful. Yet this remnant of a once-powerful civilisation that had numbered millions still retained its ancient dignity.
Slowly the White Tiger advanced. He made a regal figure as he took the place appointed to the ruler of the Maya at the summit of one of the flat-topped pyramids overlooking the arena, where stood the people.
The rays of the moon struck down, illuminating the scene with a ghostly light. The silence was broken by the incantations of the High Priest. The religious ceremony, long drawn-out, was brought to a conclusion by the offering up of the customary sacrifices to the gods of the Maya—a food-offering to Cuculcan, the god of Fertility—the slaughtering of a beast to Cimi, god of Death, but the ancient sacrifice of the maidens was, by order of the White Tiger, abolished.
Then as he rose to his full height, the High Priest drew near and hung round his neck the royal insignia—an enormous jade disc, and placed in his left hand a strange emblem carved from the same stone. The fingers of his right were then clasped round the hilt of an obsidian dagger encrusted with jade. The priest made a sign and the people bowed to the ground, and so remained silent and motionless whilst, with only the priest in attendance, the White Tiger descended from the pyramid and returned along the sacred road to the temple which had now become his residence.
The climax however was yet to come. As they passed into the temple, the priest impressively led him to one of the massive walls, placing his hand in a certain manner upon what appeared to be a solid block of stone. At his touch it rolled slowly back disclosing a flight of steps down which they passed. A lamp which the priest carried flung weird patches of light into the darkness. On and on down countless steps—into the very bowels of the earth until again the priest pressed the apparently solid rock barring their progress. With scarcely a sound the stone block turned as easily as if on oiled hinges and before them yawned a long tunnel. Passing through this they descended another flight of steps. For a third time the priest touched the wall and a huge stone rolled aside. Then in the dim light of the lantern the White Tiger saw that he was in an immense vault cut out of the living rock.
Before him, piled in endless confusion, lay the treasure of the Aztecs.
Gold chalices, bowls, jars and other vessels of every size and shape; immense plaques and strange ornaments all glittered dully. Of precious stones there were none, but many rare chalchihuitl (jadeite pendants). Masks of obsidian and shells beautifully inlaid were all heaped together with heads carved from solid blocks of crystal, Legend had not exaggerated the treasure of the Aztecs. Almost boundless wealth lay at the disposal of the White Tiger. [emphases added]
Bloodshed, rape and sickening torture, that the wretched Aztecs had undergone at the hands of the Spanish Conquistadores, had failed to wring from them this secret hiding-place. True to the oath which had they had sworn to their gods they had died rather than that their hated conquerors should benefit.
With this vast fortune a man could rise to any height, indulge in any luxury, purchase any title, and become one of the exalted of the earth. But the Indians judged, and rightly, that to the White Lord these things were of no account, and that only for their regeneration would this treasure be used.
The High Priest ceremoniously placed all at the disposal of El Tigre Blanco and instructed him how to gain entrance to the vault. Then turning, the two men left the chamber, the great stone doors rolling back into place behind them.
That night there came to the White Tiger strange dreams—vivid and disturbing in their realism. Blood and fighting, distorted heaps of dead, groans of the dying, quivering bodies rolling in agony. Spectral figures hurried past with gaping wounds and faces impressed with the stamp of death. The scene changed, and now he stood in a palace surrounded by his guards, while he received the ministers of foreign powers—he, the President of a great republic.
The dream of power was abruptly broken. A form appeared —tall, fair, with soft grey eyes and ash-gold hair. Her arms were stretched out to him, pleading. He could hear her whispered words—” I know it is not Good-bye, beloved. Have you forgotten ? ” Suddenly unseen hands snatched her away while her cry of despair rang through his brain. He started from his troubled sleep, the sweat pouring down him. He sat up and a low groan broke from his lips. It was horribly real. Of the bloodshed and his ultimate triumph as the President of a republic he knew and cared nothing. It could be but the fantasy of a disordered mind; but the girl ! the wound, never properly healed, was re-opened. Those words impressed for ever on his mind—” I know it is not Good-bye, beloved”—what could it mean ?
What was the significance of those unseen hands tearing her from him ? Why the despairing cry ? He shivered in sudden fear. Was she dead ? Had her spirit come to him in farewell ?
He rose, dressed and passed into the open. The day was breaking and in the early light the pyramids looked ghostly, and a cold wind whispered across them. Alone in this vast citadel, the resting-place of kings, priests and nobles, whose autocratic word had been obeyed by the Maya through thousands of years long past, he shuddered as over him swept the knowledge that no matter to what heights he might rise, to what power he might attain, what wealth might be his—all would be Dead Sea fruit; each step up the ladder of success would but add to his bitterness, his incompleteness, his utter loneliness. He knew that only if once more he might bold in his arms the dear form that had clung to him on that unforgettable night in the garden of Whiteleaf Manor, and know the indefinable wonder of her soft lips on his—then, and then only would he understand the real meaning of living. He turned. At his side stood the High Priest, enquiry in his eyes.
“Vision has come to me also,” he remarked simply. “Great your future, but red is the road you must travel. Nor shall you attain to the height which I prophesy without much suffering. Failure will be near. Man of blood, hand in hand with you shall Death stalk. At a time when the shadow of eternal night hovers over you, then to you will come the one you have lost and in union you shall become complete and fulfil your destiny. With his dying breath the Emperor Montezuma foretold your coming. The treasure is yours, so take freely what you desire, for it is decreed that this day you depart to that destiny which the gods have appointed. Come—even yet there is much to learn.”
And together they passed within the temple.
The further mystical rites in which the White Tiger was initiated will never be known. Hours elapsed, and when he emerged into the open and stood on the white roadway leading from the lost city, his face showed the strain of a great ordeal, but hope shone in his eyes.
His Indians were waiting, heavily laden with the golden treasure. The entire population was assembled. The ceremony of farewell was simple, as led by the High Priest they broke into a chant—a song of triumph.
As it died away they prostrated themselves and in silence the White Tiger set out to face once more the ruthless jungle.

Dorland effectively met all of Joe’s verbal uppercuts finally leaning over to tug at Pyne’s sweaty arm to inform him that the skull didn’t take kindly to negative energy and tended to invert same with a magnifying effect on whoever seemed hostile to it.
Joe’s last heckle was interrupted by Mr. Camera #1 crashing into a tripod spotlight while Mr Camera #2 jumped to the dais upon which the Crystal Skull’s exquisitely wrought terrifying countenance had quietly reposed seconds before.
Then, Joe Pyne suddenly turned ashen at what we witnessed and I viewed that day.
The skull erupted from inside like a squid ejecting a cloud of ink which to be visible against the black satiny sheen of its container opened on hinges would have to have been on the halftone grey to color scale of B&W live TV, a nearly burgundy colored purplish violet hue similar to the color of Itz.
Now, this Itz is the “Translinguistic fluid” spoken of by Terrence McKenna as quoted by Daniel Pinchbeck in 2012: The Year of the Mayan Prophecy. The Mayan Wizard-king was considered the chief professor of Itz, the cosmic sap or magical fluid of shamans and alchemists akin or identical to the violet tinged “Translinguistic fluid” sought by the McKennas, which can be used to heal or kill.

When I read of this in Pinchbeck and then read of the Amethyst Crystal Skull, the apparently hitherto mere derivative function that amethyst would afford for example, scrying become crystal clear to wit. The crystal skull had been elicited to manifest the chief function of its evil twin, the amethyst skull, which was probably utilized for death dealing psychic blows to already induced Mayans like the Juju in a bottle wards off West Indian trespassers when displayed on a tree warning potential burglars that the house is the residence of a practitioner of Voodoo, and most probably an Auriesha to a caboe of considerable power as his/her ally.

It took Joe Pyne one year to die. Big daddy Tom Donahue delivered Joe’s epitaph on the KYA radio show. Sadly the live show was before video-tape and I even more unfortunately never realized what was going on until Philip Coppens’ in Nexus 15.3 on Crystal Skulls blindly corroborated Pinchbeck’s citing McKenna and quoting from David Frededel, Linda Schele and Joy Parker’s text in Mayan Cosmos: “For the ancient Maya human beings released their [soul-stuff] from their bodies when they let their blood. Through blood letting they conjured (Tzuk) the Way and the chru the companion spirits and gods.”

My father was a jeweler and if not for my Picassoid stubby digits I would have gone to gemology and become a watchmaker like him. However, being an artist and by inclination interested in art history I caught the splendors of the Dresden Exhibit at the palace of the legion of Honour in San Francisco when it venued there. I was so impressed with the reconstruction of the green room that some years later as an ostensible art agent/art consultant residing in Prague I visited the still visibly war ravaged Dresden, then still in East Germany, in the summer of 1990. I studied the Kunst Kammer in Prague, 114 folios of “every object made by the hand of Plou”, even focusing upon a silvered centaur which I had remembered from the exhibition at SEPL San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honour. I also began to work on a theory which like a spark under a retort distilling sulphur mercury perennially attended on the back burner of my cognizance transmuted the fabulous, reducing it to the albedo ash of normalcy.

I know from my studies of the Kunst Kummer inventory of 1611 that several or more crystalline objects of a most impressive craftsmanship were listed. However, no crystal skulls! Mostly dismantling my earlier suspicion that the Mitchell-Hedges Skull might have been carved from a piece of Calaveras Quartz traded by Franciscan monks otherwise confiscated by conquistadors and sent to Philip II of Spain then forwarded to the Castrucci brothers, artisans and carvers of crystal for Rudolf II Holy Roman Emperor, was the quote from the Hewlett-Packard follow-up by Larry LaBarre that the quartz is very hard, measuring nine out of a possible ten on the Mohs scale, meaning that only a diamond would be able to cut it.
To my knowledge the Castrucci as employees of the Rudolfine workshops, wealthy as he (Rudolf II) was, did not have access to diamond mines. However, there is a particular grainy sand in the water camp region of the CR, which is of such a quality that is also quartz and it (I had thought) might have been utilized, though I would dispute that it would take seventy years or longer. Whoever carved this crystalline marvel must have obtained diamonds to cut with, especially as there must be a question mark whether there were sand sized particles in sufficient quantity. I think the Castruccis can be safely disqualified. But who can’t?

Keith Hendricks

Internationally famous explorer whom the Indians named “El Tigre Blanco”

MITCHELL-HEDGES has given over thirty-seven thousand specimens of great historical and educational value to various museums; yet has never been financed by any one. He is without question one of the greatest of scientific explorers – and among the explorers he is probably the finest speaker. Despite his scientific attainments he is a man of action, a great speaker and an outstanding personality. Named by the Indians, who at once fear and revere him as “’El Tigre Blanco” (The White Tiger) he, with his intrepid assistant and secretary, Jane Houlson, have had adventures almost too fantastic to chronicle.
His previous books, “Battles With Giant Fish,” “The Land of Wonder and Fear.” etc., together with his radio experiences, have caused him to be known from one end of this country to another, yet until now he has never been offered for an extended lecture tour.
It is our pleasure to present Mr. F. A. Mitchell-Hedges as one of the most important adventurers, scientists and lecturers of his day.

LECTURE SUBJECTS
Illustrated With Magnificently Colored Lantern Slides

THE LAND OF WONDER AND FEAR
Life among the Zutuhilc Indian living in the region of Lake Atitlan. Bloodless revolutions some not so bloodless. Impenetrable jungle, unexplored territory where rivers debauch from the bowels of the earth and volcanoes are ever active, belching forth smoke, molten lava and lire.

BATTLES WITH GIANT FISH
Some of the most remarkable pictures ever taken of great fish and the great adventures involved in their taking. Pictures of the death-ray, poison-grouper (certain death within three to six minutes to anyone it strikes), the barracuda, the liger shark, the sea scorpion, living horrors of the lovely tropical waters.

THE LOST WORLD
The jungle gives up her treasures. A deserted city of ghostly mystery is found. A white woman, unwillingly invests herself with occult powers. Adventures among the Maya Kekchi descendant of the once highly cultured Maya race.

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HAILS “THE LOST WORLD” AS A DISCOVERY WHICH “WILL COMPEL ARCHAEOLOGISTS TO RECONSTRUCT THEIR PRESENT IDEAS REGARDING THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.”

F. A. MITCHELL-HEDGES
WHO would believe that prehistoric tribes of people still dwell on the American continent? Tribes whose manner of living has not advanced as far as the Stone Age. Who have never seen a white man, have never beard of a ship, a railroad, money, the Great War, or the United Stales of America. Who dwell in complete seclusion because they take every precaution to keep their village hidden. Who by the word of their gods savagely oppose any stranger seeking entrance to their territory. Yet some of these primitive natives live in the shadow of magnificent ruins of a once great civilization that flourished before the time of Christ and has since completely vanished from the lace of the earth.
HOW did Mitchell-Hedges find his way into these hidden places, walled in by thousands of square miles of solid jungle? Why did the natives accept this strange while man, name him “El Tigre Blanco,” allow him to take part in their strange ceremonies and rituals? Not one tribe of Indians, but twenty, be has lived among. Each one distinct, each with its own strange customs and superstitions. He penetrated the very heart of the interior of the greatest […] of all and is in possession of the most amazing facts about primitive life that have ever been collected. Daily life in the primeval jungle. Night in the jungle, when animal life awakes and the darkness is jewelled with gleaming eves, and rent with strange cries, as the age-old battle of survival of the fittest is fought to the death. When dancing lights on the hillsides mark the stronghold of the witches for those who would consult the occult. What weird knowledge is sought by the Indians who creep through little known trails to visit the wizards?

GAINING the confidence of the Indians he learned secrets which have been closely guarded for centuries. How much of these strange legends are based on fact, only the patience and courage to push on year after year through solid jungle can ever tell. Many of the rumors have already proved fruitful, leading him in one instance to the oldest Mayan city yet discovered, which he named Lubaantun, (city of fallen stones). Its principal citadel covers eight acres, and it brought to light the first amphitheatre found on the American continent, having seating accommodations for at least ten thousand people.

LAND of Wonder and Fear. Mitchell-Hedges has termed his beloved Central America. For year alter year its wonders lure him hack for fresh discoveries, while the dangers lurking in its unknown depths are a constant challenge to this great adventurer. Will he ever find the great white city which legend avers as a place of immense pyramids, temples and courtyards, gleaming like frosted ice in the sun-light? Have the Indian- revealed its location to El Tigre Blanco? And where is the stronghold in which Tecum-Umane, last of the great Quiche kings, is said to have concealed the vast treasure of the Indians at the time of the Spanish Conquest? Wondrous tales of an ancient race are written on fallen stones, while only time can tell what unsolved riddles still await discovery in the vast unexplored regions of the land of Wonder and Fear.
He spent nineteen years in Central America, fought his way to jungle depths never before penetrated by white men, discovered a new race of people, unearthed the oldest Maya city yet discovered. His deep sea research in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean brought to light many strange monsters in support of his theory that prehistoric life may still lurk in the depths of the sea. Shunning cities, refusing to be lionized, he returned only long enough to get supplies, arrange new expeditions and dispose of his amazing collection of hitherto unrecorded specimens which have been donated to the British Museum, the Museums of Oxford and Cambridge, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, and others.

The premiere of the movie was at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, with a worldwide theatre release on May 22. “Crystal Skull” begins in 1957 Nevada, with Indy and his partner Mac (Ray Winstone) trying to escape from the Soviets who have kidnapped them. Blanchett’s fearsome Irina Spalko wants them to locate the crystal skull within Area 51 for some kind of nefarious mind-control plan involving alien intelligence (a long-standing Spielberg subject). A former colleague of Indy’s, Professor Harold Oxley (John Hurt), also was after the skull – and went missing in pursuit of it. LaBeouf’s young tough Mutt Williams tracks Indy down and pleads with him to help find their mutual friend, which sends the two on a quest to determine the purpose behind the mystical artefact and keep it out of the wrong hands.

In the earlier Indiana Jones films, the objects of antiquity that seemed to drive the story acted more or less purely as MacGuffins: plot devices that advanced the action, but whose explicit usefulness and others details were not of paramount importance. Audiences never needed to know exactly how the Sankara Stones worked or what they actually did in “The Temple of Doom,” nor exactly how the Arc would be put to use by the Nazis in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” We knew the parties involved were evil, and that the artefacts were powerful, and that was reason enough to stop them. Even though Hitler believed in the mystical power of such ancient artefacts, it was never about that power for Indy, the consummate archaeologist. In “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” the nature of the artefacts is anything but understated.

Since The Da Vinci Code and the media-dumbing down, movies and books come with danger. Hence, members of Russia’s dwindling Communist Party called for a nationwide boycott of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, objecting to the depiction of Soviet troops invading top-secret American installations, killing guards and wreaking havoc. The Communists claimed that no Soviet terrorists were ever sent to the US in 1957. Instead, they said, the government successfully launched the first Sputnik satellite, “which evoked the admiration of the whole world.”
The film has two references to the name Mitchell-Hedges and his crystal skull. The only other skull mentioned is in the British Museum. And though the object of desire is not the Mitchell-Hedges skull, the crystal skull of the film is nevertheless equally carved against the grain, like the Mitchell-Hedges skull.
There is a further, somewhat obscure, reference to Mitchell-Hedges. At one point, Indiana Jones relates that he was once captured by Pancho Villa. It cannot be a coincidence that Mitchell-Hedges was captured by Pancho Villa too – suggesting that portions of Indiana Jones’ profile are indeed taken from the life and times of Mitchell-Hedges. Both are definitely larger than life characters.
Other topics in the movie address the Remote Viewing projects initiated by the US and Soviet governments, the alien theme, especially Roswell and Area 51, the Nazca geoglyphs, and the legend of Akakor, with a tiny addition of the El Dorado and Col. Fawcett stories.
However, of great interest is that the plot of the movie revolves around not so much bringing 13 crystal skulls together, but bringing back the 13th skull back to the place from where it was taken from, so that this “return” can set a sequence of events in motion.

A huge number of fascinating exhibits was collected. Amongst these was the ‘Chief Fetish’ of the Chucunaque tribe, used to treat males on the point of death. This was a human male foetus preserved by an unknown means. Professor Sir Arthur Keith F.R.S., regarded as one of the greatest anthropologist of his day, examined the fetish and declared it had a skull formation ‘hitherto entirely unknown’. This anomaly has never been solved and the unique specimen was presented to The British Museum along with hundreds of others.

To quote from Mitchell-Hedges’ Danger My Ally:

“Our experience with the San Blas Indians had warned us that sickness would be rife; but nothing we had seen there remotely approached the terrible condition of the Chucunaque. The village was rotten with disease.
[…]
Day after day Mabs and I went from hut to hut, dosing as many of the natives as we could and for as long as we could endure the dreadful diseases and the appalling stench – a matter of only four hours a day. Ruthlessly we threw out the witch-doctors’ ‘medicines’ – the wooden gods, the half-calabashes of pebbles, bone, crocodiles’ teeth, bark and the acrid, smoking herbs that forced the patient to cough and fill the steamy air of his hut with germs. Many of these fetishes – including the greatest of all – we were able to bring back to England.
This chief fetish was used only as a last resort, when an Indian was at the point of death. As far as we could discover only males were privileged to undergo the treatment, and if the sufferer subsequently recovered it was considered that a miracle had occurred. But to us the significance was in the fetish itself which proved to be unique, for it was found upon examination to be a human male foetus.
Professor Sir Arthur Keith, F.R.S., who is regarded throughout the world as one of the greatest anthropologists, gives it as his opinion that its age was from five to six months when it was removed from the womb of the mother. It had been preserved perfect in every single detail, even the fine skin; and under a microscope one can see the beginning of the eyebrows. This preservation of an embryonic child shows a scientific knowledge of the highest order in contradistinction to their habits and conditions of living. All anthropologists who have seen it are unanimous in their opinion that is has neither been smoked, sun-dried nor cured by any process known today, neither has it been treated with spirit; yet it is as perfect as when first removed from the mother.
Subsequent close examination disclosed that the foetus had a skull formation hitherto entirely unknown.
When we were told by experts that it was probably the only specimen of its kind in the world, we felt its proper place was The British Museum to which we gladly presented it.”

Various cultures have used foetuses in their magic; the practice is known to have been present in Roman times in Egypt. The foetus, of course, was a living human being. Normally, in magic, inanimate objects (stones, dolls, etc.) are used as a first grade of magic, e.g. the ushabtis that in ancient Egypt were used to help the deceased in the Afterlife, or the Terracotta Army to guard the Chinese Emperor. In cases where these objects cannot be animated, human remains – such as aborted foetuses – are used as, of course, they once had a “soul”.
Because of the rather extra-ordinary nature of these artefacts, little to no research has occurred. Furthermore, the fact that Mitchell-Hedges was able to have the tribe part with their Chief Fetish underlines the level of integration and gratitude he received from the tribe.

The Chief Fetish currently remains in storage at The British Museum. Jon Rolls and Cris Winter viewed the Chief Fetish at the British Museum in 2005. Jon says that it “was the most amazing object I have ever seen – and I have visited many museums. It had incredible detail and looked like it was sleeping, it was so lifelike I expected its eyes to open any second. As I examined it, a number of questions sprung to mind which remain unanswered to this day.”
These questions were:
1. How was it preserved? In his book, it is described as being by an unknown method.
2. Can the foetus be dated by some scientific means to determine its exact age?
3. Can it be x-rayed to see whether the skull formation is as unique, as was declared in the 1920s?
4. Is there anything unique about the bone structure and joints? Obviously most foetuses have bent legs and arms and are curled up within the womb. This foetus’s joints are unnaturally straight. It looks like it could have stood upright. Could it have been in this position in the womb or was it stretched out for preservation?
5. What is its DNA? Is it human? If so, is it similar to the Chucunaque tribe? Was it deformed?
6. If not human, is it a type of monkey or other form of animal life?
7. What stage of development was the foetus at? How many months? Why did the experts in the 1920s believe it was 5-6 months old when it’s surely far too small for this to be true – even if the mother was suffering from illness or malnutrition.
8. The fingers on both hands look to be in proportion to the other fingers on that hand. However, the fingers on the foetus’s right hand are noticeably longer than on the left hand. Is there an obvious explanation for this?
9. There appears to be some thick flesh on the back of the foetus’s right hand. What is this?
10. There seems to be no scar from an umbilical cord. Why?
11. Is it possible to determine the cause of death?
12. What do the foetus’s genes tell us? What was its eye colour?
13. Can we project what its adult skull formation would have been – size and shape?

As of yet, these questions remain unanswered. The object is about 4” high – making it too small to be a four to six months old foetus, whereas those who have seen it, also mention that the eyes and head is too big for that age. Further analysis is therefore definitely not a luxury.

The first time that the Mitchell-Hedges skull was tested was in a comparison study with the British Museum skull.

There was a scholarly report comparing the Mitchell-Hedges skull to the British Museum crystal skull that can be found in Morant, G. M. “A Morphological Comparison of Two Crystal Skulls.” Man 36 (July 1936): 105-107. The British Museum Crystal Skull is currently residing in the British Museum in London, England, and has been there since 1898. It is a one-piece full size clear quartz crystal skull.

The British Crystal Skull is said to have been bought by mercenaries in Mexico in the 1890s. In comparison to the Mitchell-Hedges skull, the British Museum skull is made of cloudier clear crystal and is not nearly as finely sculpted. The features are superficially etched and appear incomplete, without distinctly formed jawbones.

Following is a summary of this document prepared by anthropologist Dr. G.M. Morant, Adrian Digby and J.J. Braunholtz of the British Museum in London.

Dr. Morant writes that there are only two known authentic life-size representations of the human skull carved in solid rock crystal: the British Museum skull and the Burney skull. (the Sydney Burney skull and the Mitchell-Hedges skull are one and the same.)

Dr. Morant states that both skulls were remarkably similar in size and shape. Furthermore, it was curious that neither of them had suture (the immovable joints between bones of the skull) marks normally found on all human skulls. Using very technical terms, Dr. Morant felt that both skulls showed suggestions of ‘femaleness’.

Owing to the absence of sutures, few of the usual measurements can be taken accurately. The most reliable ones are for the glabellar-occipital length 177mm, 174mm (the reading for the British Museum specimen given first); maximum calvarial breadth 135mm, 140mm: cephalic index 76.3mm, 80.5mm; bizygomatic breadth 117mm, 117mm; nasal breadth 22mm, 24mm; breadth of left orbit 34.5mm, 37.5mm; height of left orbit 37mm, 33.5mm; left orbital index 107.2mm, 89.3mm. None of these measurements would be at all exceptional for an actual skull except for the orbital index on the British Museum specimen. The Mitchell-Hedges skull weighs approximately 11 pounds, 7 ounces. It measures 4-29/32 inches wide by 5-13/16 inches high and is 7-7/8 inches long.

It was noticed that the only marked difference between the two skulls was that the British Museum specimen was in one solid piece, but the Mitchell-Hedges skull had a removable jawbone with teeth. It was further declared that the British skull was a crude representation, while the Mitchell-Hedges skull was far more successful in being anatomically accurate and lifelike. Dr. Morant concludes that the two skulls obviously could not be of independent origin because of their remarkable similarities of size, shape and technical measurement. Both had to be representations of the same human skull. This original skull used as a model did not have the usual European cranium. However, it easily could have been of native-American extraction.

Digby went on to write that there was no trace of identifiable tool marks on either skull. In 1965, however, Dorland found and identified parallel repeating scratches made by a rotary tool device. These tool marks were found only on the face of the teeth in the removable jaw of the Mitchell-Hedges skull.

In the 1930s, Digby believed that both skulls might have been Mexican in origin. He went on to say that the two skulls may somehow be related but it would be rash to conclude that they were modeled from the same human skull. He expressly noted the height of the British skull was greater than that of the Mitchell-Hedges skull, and he believed it would be unwise to assume any definite conclusions on either skull.

Dorland does point out that, if the British skull were taken to a skilled lapidary and had the jaw piece cut loose, the loss of material from the saw cut, the sanding, polishing and finishing of the jawbone would account for a substantial loss of rock crystal. After completion of this procedure, the height of the two skulls would be practically identical.

H.J. Braunholtz of the British Museum concludes the paper by affirming that the British skull is entirely in line with the other known, authentic Aztec specimens, therefore it might be quite acceptable as an example of pre-Columbian Aztec sculpture. Braumholtz further stated that the Mitchell-Hedges skull was so realistic that it had the character of an anatomical model in a scientific age.

An Unreported Prism and other Unusual Features

The British report in the Man journal never mentioned the existence of a most extraordinary flat prism surface carved in the roof of the mouth in the Mitchell-Hedges skull. This would be a major, time-consuming lapidary feat. All the work would be hidden from normal sight unless the skull was turned upside down. The prism was carefully positioned to reflect light from below, which would then be plainly visible in both eye sockets.

The report also ignores two small drilled holes, one on the right and one on the left side in the lower mastoid process area. These two small holes could act as support-bearing surfaces. This means that the crystal skull could be balanced upright resting on two slender pins inserted in the two holes, thus allowing the skull to be viewed as a moving, nodding oracle if the owners so wished. These two, tiny holes indicate a carefully and precisely engineered scheme of a very high intelligence and not the result of accident or coincidence.

While both skulls represent a high degree of workmanship and anatomical knowledge, (although much more so in the case of the Mitchell-Hedges skull), neither has the suture marks on the pates, which each should have and could easily have had if the artists had been seeking merely to fashion replicas of the skull of some famous person. And since suture marks on any skull are one of the most impressive things about it, it seems strange that the reason for their absence should not have been questioned in the study.

During this time Dorland made many scientific models of the skull and separate jaw piece in order to facilitate more extensive studies. Dozens of accurate copies were made and sliced into sections, allowing for more precise measurements of the configuration and mass of the skull.

Other studies by Dorland show that the zygomatic arches (the arch of the bone that extends along the front or side of the skull) are relieved and separated from the skull itself. These arches, using principles amazingly similar to our modern optic technology, act as ‘light pipes’ to channel light from the base of the skull into the excavated eye sockets. Here they terminate in miniature concave lenses that focus the beam to the rear of the sockets themselves.

Evidence of an even more mysterious nature is found in both the hand-ground and natural prisms and lenses, which also channel illumination from the base and distribute images and light.

These facts among others are why Dorland was positive that the crystal skull had to be much more important than the British Museum curators seemed to believe. It seemed to represent substantially rich material dealing with spiritual beliefs reaching far into the very soul of mankind.

The Skull at Hewlett-Packard

Another remarkably unusual feature of the Mitchell-Hedges skull is its removable jawbone. If we were to suppose that the jawbone had originally been attached and part of the skull and then later cut loose, it would be of major importance. This stems from the fact that to cut the jawbone loose from the skull and carve it to shape would be many times more difficult than merely carving a separate jawbone from another chunk of crystal.

Not only would it have been unimaginably difficult and hazardous to cut the jawbone from the skull, but also there was the implication that the skull was a major religious object requiring the utmost care, regardless of time or cost. Dorland’s research had to determine whether the jaw piece was originally a part of the solid block of crystal from which the skull was carved.

Hewlett-Packard, a major electronics company of international reputation, is located just south of San Francisco in the famous Silicon Valley. Dorland arranged to visit them, and, in November 1970, took the skull to their facilities in Santa Clara for testing because Integrated Circuits, IC’s, or chips, are built on sliced layers of crystals. HP had research scientists who could offer the most state-of-the-art testing.

The skull was immersed in a tank of benzyl alcohol which closely matches the refractive index of quartz crystal. The tank had glass sides to allow light projection and viewing. The skull was barely visible, because when crystal is immersed in a matching refractive liquid it tends to become invisible. Polarized light was then projected through the tank and skull, and viewing was done through a polarized screen. Wavy stress lines could be seen easily throughout the face of the skull and jawbone, which resembled moiré patterns.

The lines went from the skull to the jaw piece in a perfect continuation of pattern without the slightest flaw or mismatch. There was no possible doubt. The jaw piece was once an integral part of the skull and was later cut loose so it could be a separate piece.

Chris Morton and Ceri Louise Morton, authors of “The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls”, visited the HP labs to try and find out what else the scientists had discovered during the testing process. They were able to speak to the current principle scientist at the lab, Jack Kusters, and the former engineering manager for quartz devices, Charles Adams, who had been present during the tests. Between them these two men have over 50 years’ experience of working with crystal. The following findings are taken from their book:

In one of the tests the skull was submersed in a glass chamber containing benzyl alcohol of exactly the same density and refractive index as pure quartz. As the skull was lowered into the tank it seemed to disappear. This proved that it was made of the most incredibly pure type of quartz. But not only was it pure, it was also natural “rock crystal supplied by the earth”. Polarized light was directed at the skull in its chamber and vague shadows or ‘veils’ then appeared, which showed that the skull was of natural origin. These shadows, tiny variations in the growth pattern of the crystal, somewhat akin to rings on a tree, are removed in the precisely controlled environment of manufactured quartz. So the skull was not made from any type of plastic or glass, nor was it made from modern synthetic crystal.

The presence of the veils also revealed something else quite remarkable about the crystal skull. Given its size, unusually large for a natural piece of quartz, some had suspected that the skull had been made from several pieces of crystal carefully pieced together. But the polarized light test proved beyond doubt not only that the main cranium was made from only one piece of crystal, but also that the detachable jaw-bone was carved from exactly the same piece of rock crystal.

The investigating team was absolutely astonished by this for pure quartz crystal is one of the hardest materials in the world. On the Mohs scale of hardness, used by gemologists, it is only slightly softer than diamond. This makes rock crystal an incredibly difficult material to carve, particularly given that it is also somewhat brittle and has a tendency to shatter. The workmanship on the skull was so exquisite the team estimated that even if the carvers had used today’s electrically powered tools with diamond tips, it would have taken at least a year to carve such an incredible object. But the team concluded something even more surprising than this. They felt that it would have been almost impossible to make such an exquisitely carved object using any known type of modern diamond-tipped power tool. This is because the vibration, heat and friction produced by such tools on such a delicate object as the lower jaw would actually have caused the skull to shatter – a fact which apparently led one member of the team to comment, “This skull shouldn’t even exist!”

But the original investigating team’s belief that the skull had not been made with modern tools was more than just a hunch. It was borne out by further tests. Even under extreme magnification of the surface of the skull there was no evidence of modern tool markings, no evidence of the usual tool ‘chatter’ or the tell-tale pattern of repetitive parallel scratch marks. Given that any such markings would have been extremely difficult to remove, these findings seemed to confirm what the team had already begun to suspect – that the crystal skull had actually been made by hand or by some advanced machine or tool we are unaware of.

This was phenomenal, as the only hand-carving techniques for crystal currently known take an incredible length of time. The scientists could only assume that the skull had been carved by slowly and patiently rubbing the original block of quartz down by hand, probably using a mixture of river sand and water. Even with the use of copper rods or hand-held carving ‘bows’, the team concluded that the crystal skull must have taken several generations of effort to carve! Whilst the precise length of time this had taken was impossible to confirm, the Hewlett-Packard staff magazine Measure put the nearest estimate at ‘300 man-years of effort’!

As Jack and Charles explained, whoever made the skull would have had to have started with a huge chunk of angular quartz crystal around three times the size of the finished skull, and when they first started carving they would have no way of knowing whether the inside was pure or full of fractures and holes. They would have had to carefully grade the sand by the size of each of its grains, starting with the largest grains to rough out the overall shape and gradually reducing their size as the work became more detailed, right down to a microscopically fine grain size, like powder, to finish off the final smooth polish. What is more, if they had made a mistake at any point, they would have to start again from scratch. If even a single grain that was too large had fallen onto the surface on which they were working as they neared completion of the skull, they would have to start again. This must have been a truly formidable task.

Here was what appeared to be proof positive, using the latest techniques that the skull had been made entirely by hand and without the use of any kind of modern metal age tools.

However, it was absolutely impossible for the scientists to tell exactly when this had been done. For, as Jack and Charles explained, quartz crystal does not age. It does not corrode, erode, decay or change in any way with time. This is actually one of the many unusual properties of quartz that makes it so vital to the modern electronics industry, but it also makes it impossible to carbon date. With other materials, even if there are no visible signs of aging, as in the case of the crystal skull, scientists can usually work out very accurately both the age of the original material and any workmanship thereon by measuring the degree of radioactive decay in the carbon atoms of which it is comprised. When you are dealing with quartz crystal, however, this is just not possible, for it contains no carbon atoms, just silicon and oxygen.

So, for all the team’s scientific knowledge, up-to-the-minute technology and specialist expertise, there was absolutely no way of knowing how old the crystal skull really is. It could have been hundreds or even billions of years old. For all the scientists know it can be as old as the Earth itself, or even older. It can even date back to the beginning of time.

Physical Properties of Quartz Crystal

But the scientists at Hewlett-Packard were able to uncover one more potential clue to the mystery of the crystal skull. Other tests showed that the skull was not only made from a single piece of natural quartz, but from ‘piezo-electric’ silicon dioxide, precisely the type of naturally occurring quartz that is so widely used in modern electronics.

As Jack explained, the piezo-electric properties of some kinds of quartz were only discovered towards the end of the nineteenth century by Marie Curie’s husband and brother-in-law, Pierre and Jacques Curie. Piezo is Greek, meaning ‘to squeeze’, and electrose means ‘to get a charge from’. The fact that the crystal skull is made from this type of quartz means that it actually has a positive and negative polarity, just like a battery. It also means that if you apply pressure to the skull, or ‘squeeze’ it, it is actually capable of generating electricity! Alternatively, if you apply an electric charge to the crystal skull it actually changes its shape, without in any way affecting its mass or density.

But, like all piezo-electric quartz, the crystal skull is anisotropic in this as well as every other respect, which is to say that all of its properties, other than its mass, are different in every direction. In the case of its electrical properties, its precise orientation is defined by its X-Y-Z axis; in other words, it can carry an electric current, but only in six particular directions relative to this X-Y-Z axis. In any other direction it acts as an insulator.

In the case of the crystal skull, the scientists found that it was ‘vertically piezo-electrically oriented’, which is to say that its X-Y-Z axis runs directly through the center of the skull, from top to bottom. This means that if you apply an electric charge to the top of the crystal skull, not only does its shape change microscopically along the X-Y axis, but also the electric current passes only in the direction from the very top of the skull’s head straight down in a line defined by the top-to-bottom or the Z axis. Was this merely coincidence, or did the makers of the skull have this X-Y-Z axis in mind as they planned the skull’s orientation? In the case of squeezing the skull to generate electricity, strangely enough, if you reverse the direction of pressure, the direction of electrical polarity in the crystal also reverses.

The Hewlett-Packard team also examined the skull’s unusual optical properties, such as its ability to channel light impinging the skull from below, so that it is focused out through the eye sockets. Apparently, this is only possible due to the orientation of the skull’s optical axis, as quartz crystal has an optical as well as an electrical axis. What this means is that the light actually travels quicker through the skull in one direction than another. Jack explained that not only was the skull able to perform these incredible tricks with normal multi-directional light, but also that if you shine directional, or polarized, light at the skull, not only does the light pass along its optical axis quicker than in any other direction, but the skull actually rotates that light as it travels along its axis.

Another characteristic of the skull is that it is incredibly environmentally stable. This is another of the properties of piezo-electric silicon dioxide that makes it so invaluable for use in modern electronics. What this means is that the crystal skull is highly resistant to chemical changes. Most similar natural materials are slowly attacked by various chemicals, whether acids or even just plain water. The crystal skull, on the other hand, is resistant to chemicals. As Jack explained, ‘Quartz crystal is highly stable, physically, chemically and temperately, and whilst it does not respond to light and electricity, this is precisely what makes it so useful to electronics.’

For modern science has also established that one of the particularly unusual properties of piexo-electric quartz is that it can function as an excellent oscillator or resonator. Jack explained this as follows: ‘If a thin slice of crystal is cut parallel to its electronic axis and subjected to an alternating current, the crystal can be made to vibrate. The dimensions of the cut crystal are such that it will vibrate most strongly at the a.c. frequency. At this frequency, the mechanical motion of the crystal will reinforce the a.c. Voltage.’

In other words, crystal, unlike other materials, has an amazing ability to hold electrical energy under control and to oscillate at a constant and precise frequency. Extrapolating from this property this suggests that, in theory at least, the crystal skull may actually be able to hold electrical energy, potentially a form of information, and send out electrical impulses, or vibrating waves of information.

This ability to oscillate is yet another of the many unusual properties of this type of quartz that makes it so invaluable to the modern electronics industry. Its use in oscillator circuits for example, makes it vital to any piece of equipment where extremely accurate control of electronic frequencies is required. It is particularly important in precision electronics, especially in those instruments used for time keeping. Indeed, quartz crystal is now found in almost every piece of equipment from wristwatches to clocks. It is even used in the atomic clock, which is the most accurate clock in the world, the one by which all others are measured. It is accurate to three seconds every million years (although its manufacturers only guarantee it for the first three years). The atomic clock, for example, has been used to test Einstein’s theory that time actually travels more slowly as the speed of light is approached. This clock is also vital to research into measuring seismic (or earthquake) activity on distant planets. And the whole device is based on a simple quartz crystal.

But quartz is not only found in the most advanced time keeping instrument, it is also vital to the fields of information technology, telecommunications and mass communication, not to mention navigational equipment, radar and sonar systems, and the latest medical and ultrasonic technology. Its incredible electrical properties mean that it is now found in all manner of electronic devices, from radios to computers, from terrestrial television systems to even the most advanced telecommunication satellites that now orbit the earth in space. All of these use quartz crystals in one form or another. Even the vast information super-highway has only been possible thanks to recent developments in the field of crystal research and technology.

So crystal today is at the very forefront of scientific advance. It lies at the very heart of the modern computer, electronics, telecommunications and mass communications industries. Indeed, the power of crystal has quite literally changed the face of society. We now live in a world where electronically-based information and communications are now an everyday part of life, a world where even the time of day is determined electronically. We are able to communicate instantaneously with people thousands of miles away and to store and retrieve vast quantities of information from all over the world quite literally at the touch of a button. Crystal has been at the core of one of the greatest technological revolutions the world has ever seen. We have become so dependent on all devices containing quartz crystals that it is now even vital to our civilization.

Why had the crystal skull been made from precisely the type of quartz whose properties and potential we have only just begun to recognize?

The Face on the Crystal Skull

During the many years of Dorland’s research where he personally displayed either the crystal skull or the models and photographs of it to thousands of viewers, the common reaction was silence and perhaps even awe. But occasionally a rare soul would turn to him and say “Wouldn’t it be marvelous to be able to see a face?”

One way to put a legitimate face on the crystal skull is through a science known as forensic reconstruction, which has been defined as creating a portrait indicating the original appearance of a former person. The portrait is built on the foundation of the skull or its remnants. This science has made great advances in the last few years and has reached high levels of legal acceptance due to incredible accuracy.

In this connection, Frank Joseph, a historical writer in Olympia Fields, Illinois, contacted Dorland in 1986. Joseph suggested showing a model of the skull to Dr. Clyde Snow, who is a renowned physical anthropologist at the University of Oklahoma. Snow’s comments would have been of great help, so Dorland gladly shipped his plaster cast of the crystal skull to Joseph so he could proceed with Snow on the project.

Joseph reported that Snow minutely examined the cast and, after careful deliberations, stated the skull was definitely not simply an artist’s conception of a skull, as many had claimed. Quite the contrary, the skull was a carefully made copy of an actual skull of a young female being. This classification by Snow added fuel to Joseph’s project, and he was even more intent to find a top forensic scientist who would undertake a reconstruction of the face on the skull.

Months later, Dorland received a telephone call from Joseph who told him that he had found what may be the top forensic team today. Furthermore, they agreed to make a preliminary study to determine if they could sensibly go ahead with a facial reconstruction.

The team was Peggy C. Cadwell, collaborator with the anthropology department of the Smithsonian Institute, and detective Frank J. Domingo, composite artist with the New York Police Department. Joseph forwarded the plaster cast to them while Dorland sent a set of 8” x 10” glossy photographs of the skull to help them in their work.

In due time, Dorland received a report of the preliminary examination, which showed that the skull was a copy of a real skull of a young female of the Mongoloid* race who was between the ages of 25 and 29. The team could now proceed with the actual reconstruction of the face, which would have been pointless if the skull had turned out to be merely an artist’s conception.

The actual facial building process is quite detailed and lengthy. A simple explanation might indicate that known anatomical reference points and the tables of various depths of soft tissue are carefully followed. The layers of muscle, flesh and skin are laid over the bare skull until the facial features are finally complete. After a few weeks, Dorland received a final report from Peggy Caldwell and a photo of the drawing made by detective Frank Domingo.

Claims exist that there is “near proof” about how the skulls have been traced to a German village that specialized in crystal. Though it is indeed true that this village had many experts in working with crystals, there is no evidence that they made any or several crystal skulls. Worse, there is not a single piece of evidence which connects the French antiquities dealer Boban (or any other Mexican antiques dealer) with the crystal manufacturers of this village. The claim made by some that it is likely or almost proven that several skulls were fabricated in this village, is unsupported by evidence. It is an unsubstantiated theory, and is hence without scientific validity.

The 1943 auction of the “Skull of Doom”

Certain people have made a lot about how Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull at auction in 1943. This is an undisputed fact. But this “revelation” takes the focus away from the fact that the skull is known to have existed in 1936, when it was studied by the British Museum. The report stated that it could not trace the skull’s existence beyond 1934.
No evidence has been uncovered how Burney acquired it, or that he felt it was of recent origin. If he did acquire it as a “modern fake”, he would surely not have taken the risk and submitted it for testing by the British Museum in 1936? Furthermore, noting that Burney and Mitchell-Hedges were friends, all the available evidence is definitely in favor of Mitchell-Hedges possessing the skull in the early 1930s – which in itself does nothing for or against the age or origin of the skull.

The “controversial” Boban

Jane Walsh should be commended for tracing the Paris and British Museum skull back to Eugène Boban. However, no-one has uncovered any evidence that the Mitchell-Hedges skull has any connection with Boban.
Furthermore, there is no evidence whatsoever that Boban ordered these skulls in Germany, or knew they were fake. As all art dealers, some fake artifacts did pass through his hands, but he is known to have been a man who spoke out against fakes, and felt the sale of fake artifacts was counter-productive for the market in which he was operating. He personally crusaded against frauds and fakes, such as in 1881, when he spoke out against forgeries that were being made in the suburbs of Mexico City.
A contemporary art dealer, Wilson Wilberforce Blake, at a time when he was openly claiming that everyone should buy from him, not Boban, did claim the skull was fake. No shred of evidence exists to substantiate this allegation – which had clear economical motives.

“A third generation skull”

Walsh has labeled the Mitchell-Hedges skull as a third generation skull, seeing it is the most detailed and best of the crystal skulls known to exist. She therefore considers it more modern than the Paris and British Museum skulls. It is implied therefore to be post-Boban. However, no evidence has been produced for her claim, and as the skull is allegedly even more recent than Boban’s, one would expect there to be evidence that is easily obtainable. However, none is produced.
Furthermore, as enticing as her generational approach to cataloguing the skulls is, it suggests a group of people perfecting their techniques over time and thus their end product becoming ever more refined. However, in the case of the crystal skulls, we are talking about 5 to 6 artifacts, which, if indeed of recent origins, were still apparently produced over a period of 40 to 60 years (ca. 1860-1900-1920 AD), which has innate problems:
a. one person would likely only do one skull in his lifetime;
b. there is no evidence at all to argue that the more basic skulls are older than e.g. the Mitchell-Hedges one;
c. there is no evidence that all skulls come from the same location, let alone the same “crystal factory”;
d. why would this German town only have sold to or via Boban, and not put such crystal skulls in their “general catalogue” and on sale elsewhere and locally?

Hence, this generational cataloguing is without any foundation in fact and at present pure speculation.

Evidence of wheels in production as proof of post-Columbian/modern origin

Walsh et al. claim that the presence of evidence on the skulls that wheels were used, is evidence of not only post-Columbian, but specifically modern origins.
However, this conclusion is at odds with the evidence. The crystal skull owned by Mexican Norma Redo supports a large crucifix on its top. This skull shows evidence of wheelwork. But from his analysis, archaeologist Dr Andrew Rankin has argued that the skull was sculpted from the same crystal as that of the crystal goblet from tomb no. 7 at Monte Albán, which is an uncontested archaeological find.
Furthermore, the 1571 hallmark on the crucifix is also deemed to be genuine, thus in general excluding the likelihood that this skull is of 19th century European fabrication. This suggests the skull dates from 1571 or earlier. Though it does not prove the skull is pre-Columbian, it does indicate that crystal skulls were made in Mexico before 1600.
Finally, Professor Michael D. Coe of Yale University stated that evidence of wheel markings in no way proves that the skulls are modern. He stated that although it has long been accepted that no pre-Columbian civilization used the rotary wheel, new evidence contradicts this scientific dogma. Wafer-thin obsidian ear-spools are now known to have been made using some rotary carving equipment and to be dated to the Aztec/Mixtec period. According to Chris Morton and Ceri Louise Thomas in The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, Coe concluded (p. 226): “People who sit in scientific laboratories don’t know the full range of the culture they’re dealing with. We really don’t know half as much about these early cultures as we think we do. People need to re-examine their beliefs.”

Psychic powers, Atlantis, and alien origins

We cannot be held responsible for other people’s opinions or theories about the origins of the crystal skull. Throughout her lifetime, Anna Mitchell-Hedges was accommodating to psychics, artists and scientists who wanted to work or study the artifact. Claims that she never allowed the skull to be scientifically tested, are erroneous.
Equally, F.A. Mitchell-Hedges never stated the skull was from Atlantis, or an extra-terrestrial civilization, or like. In fact, he is on the record, in his autobiography “Danger My Ally”, as stating his conviction that the skull was a Native American artifact, used by local shamans in their “esoteric rites”.

On April 18, 2008, the Quai Branly museum felt it had to release a press statement that the skull was “probably” made in the 19th century. In the statement, the museum said that results of an analysis of its skull in 2007-2008 by the country’s C2RMF research and restoration centre “seem to indicate that it was made late in the 19th century.” Note the word “seem”.
Another article, on the British Museum skull, read: “The London skull was examined twice, in 1996 and 2004, and both studies tended to prove it was a fake, though the final conclusions have not been made public.” What are we to make of statements like “tended to prove”? There is either proof, or there isn’t. Everything else is evidence, and up for interpretation.
All of the articles sang from the same hymn-sheet: how evidence of wheels “proved” they are not pre-Columbian; the Boban connection; the speculation about possible German origins. All of this “evidence” has been countered in the rebuttal article and the “German connection” is so unsubstantiated that even the newspaper and magazine articles used words like “may”, “probably” or “could” – but there is no evidence for it. It is purely a theory by Jane Walsh, unsupported by any evidence.

The various stories that have been published highlight how badly one-sided the debate has become, but this is typical of the mainstream media’s approach to “news” in general. And what are we to make of the “Skull of Doom” – also known as the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull – being labelled the “skull of destiny”?
AFP even decided it would invent its own variation of the “gathering of the skulls” legend, highlighting it either got that from a new age webpage, or just invented it altogether. Note no-one is quoted: “Each skull was supposed to correspond to 12 worlds in which human life was present. They were brought by the Itza, the ancient people of Atlantis, to their civilisation in order to pass on their knowledge to man. The 13th world, the land, also had its own crystal skull, and all 13 skulls were kept in a great pyramid by the Olmecs, the Mayas and ultimately the Aztecs. The Aztecs are said to have been responsible for the dispersal and loss of the skulls, which when brought together possessed great powers, including being lined up on the last day of the Maya calendar - December 21, 2012 - to prevent the earth from tipping over.” And one wonders why no-one is buying newspapers anymore!

This “crystal skulls war” has brought about another divide, which only few journalists seem to have noticed: that between archaeologists and their claims/interpretations, and that of anthropology/living traditions. For example: archaeologists stick around Jane Walsh, who almost single-handedly leads the archaeologists’ assault, claiming that all crystal skulls are 19th century fabrications. Yet it is clear that Mayans in Middle America have a living tradition about a gathering of the skulls. Indeed, social beliefs change over time, but the Guatemalan shamans were uttering these beliefs before the crystal skulls achieved any notoriety whatsoever, suggesting their opinions were genuinely their own – which implies also that archaeologists have it dead wrong.
For example, in the jungles of southern Mexico, the Lacandon, the last unassimilated Mayas, still have communities that worship crystal skulls. In the shadow of the Palenque ruins, Lacandon priest K’in Garcia fans copal incense and holds a heavy crystal skull above his head during ceremonies for Hacha’kyum, the Mayan god of creation. Garcia, the son of the Lancandon’s most respected elder, Chan Kin, believes the skull has special powers, including the ability to stave off sickness and deforestation in the rain forest where the last Lacandon still live. “When I am alone at night, at about 2 a.m., it starts to glow, it emits light, and it stays like that for about a minute,” says Garcia, underlining that in his eyes, the skull has otherworldy, if not supernatural, connotations.

As we head towards 2012, there is one clear new development, which is that the Mayans, after centuries of oppression, are now becoming ever stronger, ever more socially sure about their self-identity, and their desire to have social respect. A most remarkable change for the better occurred on April 23, 2008, when a television station that once was the voice of the Guatemalan military dictatorship that had massacred thousands of Mayans, showed the glyph of the day from the millennial Mayan calendar and announced itself as ”TV Maya: Guatemala’s multi-cultural station.”
The station, funded by the Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages (ALMG), broadcasts for 30 minutes, three times a day, showing programs that teach Mayan culture, worldview and language. Its programs are broadcast in indigenous languages with Spanish subtitles.
The station will be of particular importance in healing the wounds of the past and creating unity in Guatemala, a country that is sixty percent indigenous, with 22 different linguistic groups of Maya, as well as Garifuna and Xinca. It continues the country’s commitment to peace accords made in 1996, after the Guatemalan military adopted a ‘’scorched earth” policy in its efforts to fight leftist guerillas. That policy left more than 200,000 people dead, most of them rural Mayans. It is a massacre that has, as is usual for Central and Southern America, hardly received any attention from the international media – not even from those who claim to help Mayan knowledge enter the West.

With the rise of the Maya, there might be an interest clash on the horizon, once they have the self-assurance to “pick a fight” with the archaeologists who, from their ivory towers in “Colonial Headquarters” seem to continue to dictate what the truth should be – rather than could be, or is.

Philip Coppens is a journalist and researcher. He has been writing on the crystal skulls since 1995. His website is www.philipcoppens.com.