Famous Aztec crystal skulls are probably among the most iconic archaeological artifacts to come out of Central America. Over the years, skulls have inspired countless theories about alien sculptors, psychic technologies, and magic stones. However, there are some doubts about the authenticity of these remains. These presumed pre-Columbian skulls may be cheap imitations made by a 19th-century Frenchman.
Today, there are about a dozen skulls in museums and private collections around the world, ranging in size from a few inches to about the size of a bowling ball. These bright skulls were first exhibited in the British Museum in 1856. Aztecs It was discovered by purchasing a miniature skull that is said to have been made by However, it was unclear where exactly this piece came from.
The British Museum purchased a second crystal skull in 1897 and it is on display in the museum today. Although initially believed the skull was pre-Columbian, the museum now states that the fragment’s origin is “very uncertain” and technological tests have failed. Other crystal skulls of varying sizes soon appeared in the collections of Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology and the Smithsonian Institution. However, in the 1950s, William Foshag, a mining expert at the Smithsonian, noticed that the pieces were made using modern jewelry making tools and made it clear that they were fakes.
Skulls occupy an important place in Aztec iconography and are often found carved on the walls of ancient temples or depictions of gods. However, no crystal skulls have been found in archaeological excavations in Mexico or elsewhere. None of the specimens in the museum collections are associated with an excavation project. In the early 2000s, archaeologists began to suspect that all Aztec crystal skull specimens were fake, but these suspicions were not supported by hard evidence.
Finally, in 2008, an unidentified donor sent a skull to the Smithsonian Institution. He claimed to have purchased this skull in 1960 and also insisted it belonged to Mexican dictator Porfírio Díaz. This discovery revealed conclusive evidence that the crystal skulls are fake.
An anthropologist named Jane MacLaren Walsh got this large crystal skull. Together with Margaret Sax of the British Museum, she analyzed both the Smithsonian skull and the specimen found in London. Using a scanning electron microscope, the duo found that both skulls were carved with rotating wheels. Therefore, they proved that it cannot be produced using Aztec technology.
Walsh and Sax then analyzed the liquid and solid streams in the quartz from which the crystal skulls were made and determined that the rock was hammered in a “mesothermal metamorphic environment.” This result indicated that Central America was not a source and that the crystal most likely came from Brazil or Madagascar. The fact that the two countries were not part of the Aztec trade routes suggests that the crystal skulls were not originally made by the Aztecs and were later counterfeited.
Making of Crystal Skulls
While it is not possible to trace the history of all crystal skulls, records of the specimen in the British Museum indicate that it was originally purchased from a French merchant named Eugène Boban. Boban had displayed two more crystal skulls in an exhibition held at the Exposition Universelle in Paris to showcase his findings as the official archaeologist of the Mexican Maximilian court. However, although Boban was a member of the French Scientific Commission in Mexico, he was not a professional archaeologist and spent most of his youth doing his own unofficial excavations in Mexico.
As a result, Aztec crystal skulls, though attributed to an enigmatic and ancient civilization, are actually fake artifacts produced in the 19th century by French merchant Eugène Boban. Although Boban introduced himself as an archaeologist, he actually had no professional training and had illegally excavated and collected artifacts in Mexico. It was easy for Boban to sell his counterfeit works, as the museums knew of the interest in the crystal skulls and were happy to believe their claims about their authenticity. Today, these fake artifacts continue to be exhibited as real Aztec relics.
