Mystery of crystal skulls may be no mystery at all

WASHINGTON -- To satisfy people's fascination with crystal skulls, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is putting its skull on display starting Thursday.

"People like to believe in something greater than themselves," Smithsonian anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh said, and crystal skulls are mysterious and beautiful.

The skulls "are a fascinating example of artifacts that have made their way into museums with no scientific evidence to prove their rumored pre-Columbian origins," she added.

Crystals carved into the shape of a human skull fed the 19th century's need for drama and mystery and its fascination with death. They were supposed to be the creation of ancient Mesoamericans — Aztecs, Mixtecs, Toltecs, perhaps Maya.

The skulls were claimed to represent the art and religion of these peoples. Some even said the skulls had special, even supernatural, powers.

Scientists say this is not true.

Nonetheless, the giant crystal skull that mysteriously arrived at the Smithsonian 16 years ago is out of its locked cabinet in Walsh's office and will be on public view until Sept. 1.

Studying this skull led Walsh to extend her investigation into crystal skulls in other museums and to conclude that all are fakes, made in the 19th and 20th centuries.

"In the past, most carved skulls were assumed to be ancient," she said. After all, why would someone go to the trouble of faking one?

Still, she is glad it arrived at her doorstep and prompted the study. "This particular object has told us a whole new story," she said.

Of the many crystal skulls in museums and private collections around the world, the Smithsonian's is one of the largest, at 10 inches (25 centimeters) high and weighing 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms). It was mailed to the museum anonymously, accompanied by a note claiming it was of Aztec origin.

It is not, Walsh said.

The skulls were carved from blocks of quartz — sometimes called rock crystal — and show the marks of modern carving tools. That means they were not made before the 19th century. The Smithsonian one, she said, seems to have been made between 1950 and 1960.