Doubts about the mysterious crystal skull case

An archaeologist in Belize filed a lawsuit, accusing producers of "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull Kingdom" of using a stolen artifact from the country itself.

However, also through the lawsuit, many doubts surrounding the crystal skull were laid out. Accordingly, it is possible that the skull is not an artificial item of Belize created by the ancient Mayans but just a trick of an adventurer from the 20th century.

The crystal skull story begins in the 1930s or 1920s, when explorer Frederick A. Mitchell-Hedges claims to have found a skull somewhere in Central America. According to Anna (deceased), the daughter of Mitchell-Hedges, many such skulls are found in the ancient Mayan city of Belize's Lubaantún.

The skull is smaller than the real skull seen in the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was 12.7cm tall, 17.8cm wide, made of quartz polished and the skull jaw opened. Through stories, this skull has become a myth. It is believed that its glassy color is due to many generations of polishing up and many years, capable of magically pushing back, destroying witches.

Crystal skull hunting image in Indiana movie
Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal skull. (Photo: Livescience)

Recently archaeologist Jaime, the director of the Archaeological Institute, represented Belize to reclaim the film for three reasons: Conserving and recovering the objects of the Belize people; Ensuring the rights of the Belize nation for objects as well as the profits arising therefrom; finally to make Belize - a small country known globally.

But others argue about the truth of Mitchell-Hedges story. Anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh examined the skull and found that it was engraved at high speed, with a carving tool coated with diamond from the 20th century. Theo Walsh is not an ancient skull and Not polished for generations.

To test the authenticity of the crystal skull, Walsh used high resolution microscopy, computerized tomography (CT) and electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal clearly the skull was created with a Metal type tool for diamond. Walsh suspected that the skull Mithcell Hedges discovered was a replica of a skull at the British Museum created around 1800 with the same cutting technology.

The controversy surrounding the real or fake problem of the crystal skull is an ancient Mayan artifact. In any case, the identification of the origin of this type of skull decided greatly to the lawsuit against 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' filmmakers .

Reference: Livescience