In 1992 the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. acquired a mysterious artifact with unclear origins known as the Crystal Skull. It was the size of an average human skull, made of milky white quartz, but more importantly, it was said to hold supernatural powers and ancient wisdom. And it wasn’t the only one… Those who’ve come into contact with the skulls have had prophetic visions, disturbing dreams and have even encountered deadly curses – but to this day, no one knows who made the skulls, or why.
The skull owned by Mitchell-Hedges, photographed on Monday, July 24, 2023, in Indiana by Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar. Courtesy of Indystar.com
Jane MacLaren Walsh and the Crystal Skull at the Smithsonian. Courtesy of Archaeology.org
Anna Mitchell-Hedges and the Crystal Skull Courtesy Of Bill Homann and the Indy Star.
Lubaantun where Mitchell-Hedges allegedly found the Crystal Skull. Courtesy of National Institute of Culture and History.
Episode Source Material
BOOKS
PUBLICATIONS/PRINT NEWS
- Archeology Magazine: Mythical Mercury Pool by Zach Zorich.
- ‘Indiana Jones’ suit: Hollywood profited from Crystal Skull theft by Stephanie Grimes.
- Illinois Times: The kingdom of the crystal skull by C. D. Stelzer.
- National Geographic: Crystal Skulls. By Richard A. Lovett and Scott Hoffman.
- National Geographic: The gory history of Europe’s mummy-eating fad by Erin Blakemore.
- Daily Mail: Curse of the crystal skulls: The real life story of the new Indiana Jones movie by Chris Morton and Ceri Louise Thomas.
- History: Atlantis by History.com Editors.
- History: What are the Crystal Skulls? by Sarah Pruitt.
- The Columbus Dispatch: Archaeology | 13 skulls nonsense detracts from real Mayan achievements by Staff Writer.
- Smithsonian Mag: The Aztecs Constructed This Tower Out of Hundreds of Human Skulls by Livia Gershon.
- Huffpost: Texas Woman JoAnn Parks Talks To Crystal Skull (And Sometimes, She Says, It Talks Back) by David Lohr.
- Los Angeles Times: Crystal skulls, from reel to real life by Mark Stevenson.
- Archeology Archive: Legend of the Crystal Skulls by Jane MacLaren Walsh. Volume 61. Number 3.
- Archeology Archive: The Skull of Doom by the Archaeological Institute of America.
- All That’s Interesting: These Infamous Crystal Skulls Aren’t From Aztecs Or Aliens, But Just Victorian Hoax Artists. By Daniel Rennie.
- Heritage Daily: The Truth Behind the Crystal Skulls by Mark Milligan.
DOCUMENTARIES (WEB)
PODCASTS
ACADEMIC PAPERS
- National Library of Medicine: Anthropometric growth study of the head by Farkas LG, Posnick JC, Hreczko TM.
- Journal of Anthropological Research: Caves and Crystalmancy: Evidence for the Use of Crystals in Ancient Maya Religion by James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer.
- Journal of Archaeological Science: The origins of two purportedly pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls by Margaret Sax a, Jane M. Walsh b, Ian C. Freestone c, Andrew H. Rankin d, Nigel D. Meeks. Volume 35, Issue 10, October 2008, Pages 2751-2760.
WEB/BLOG SITES
- John Hopkins Medicine: Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works (website).
- Federal Register: Import Restrictions Imposed on Certain Archaeological Material From Belize (website).
- Guggenheim Museum: The Aztec Empire (website).
- National Geographic: Education Collection. (website).
- Milwaukee Public Museum: Lacandon Collection (website).
- Mama’s Minerals: The Mesoamerican Crystal Skulls (blog).
- Skull Bliss: The Crystal Skull (blog).
- Medium: The Enigmatic Journey of Anna Mitchell-Hedges: Discoverer of the Crystal Skull by Stevo Perry. 2024. (blog).
- Britannica: Porfirio Díaz (reference).
- Atlas Obscura: Lubaantun Archeological Reserve (website).
- Lonely Planet: Lubaantun (website).
- The Library of Congress (website).