Crystal skulls are human skullhardstone carvings made of clear or milky quartz rock, known in art history as "rock crystal". They are often claimed to be pre-ColumbianMesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. However, none of the specimens made available for scientific study have been authenticated as pre-Columbian in origin.[1] Despite some claims presented in an assortment of popularizing literature, legends of crystal skulls with mystical powers do not figure in genuine Mesoamerican or other Native American mythologies and spiritual accounts.[2]
The skulls are often claimed to exhibit paranormal phenomena by some members of the New Age movement, and they have often been portrayed as such in fiction. Crystal skulls have been a popular subject appearing in numerous sci-fi television series,[3] novels,[4] and video games.[5]
↑British Museum (n.d.-b), Jenkins (2004, p.217), Sax et al. (2008), Smith (2005), Walsh (1997; 2008)
↑Aldred (2000, passim.); Jenkins (2004, pp.218–219). In this latter work, Philip Jenkins, former Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies and latterly an endowed professor of humanities at PSU, writes that crystal skulls are among the more obvious of examples where the association with Native spirituality is a "historically recent" and "artificial" synthesis. These are "products of a generation of creative spiritual entrepreneurs" that do not "[represent] the practice of any historical community".
↑The Veritas: The Quest's episode summary on MSM's website
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