According to a popular story, English researcher Frederick A.
Mitchell-Hedges found the Skull of Doom among Maya ruins in
Lubaantun (now Belize) in 1927. However, some people state that the
researcher bought the thing at Sotheby?s in London in 1943. No
matter what is the origin of the skull, the object of rock crystal
is so perfectly worked that it is an invaluable piece of art. If we
accept the first hypothesis saying that the skull belonged to Maya
then a great number of questions arise in this connection.
Researchers state that the Skull of Doom is in a certain way
impossible from the technical point of view. The ideal copy of a
female skull weighing five kilograms is so wonderfully perfect
which could hardly be achieved without some modern methods that
Maya knew and of which we have no idea. The skull is polished
perfectly. Its jaw is an articulate part detached from the rest of
the skull. The Skull of Doom has been the point of interest of
researchers from various spheres for a rather long period. And it
is sure to draw their attention in the future as well. A group of
esoteric experts keep on insisting that the skull reveals
supernatural capacities such as telekinesis, exhaling a rare smell
and changing colors. But it is difficult to prove that these
capacities actually exist.
The Skull of Doom was subjected to various analyses. It is
incredible that the item made of fused silica with the hardness
seven of the Mohs scale (the scale of mineral hardness from zero to
ten) was worked without hard cutting rubies or diamonds.
Hewlett-Packard studied the skull in the 1970s and stated that it
must have taken 300 years for numerous generations to rub a block
of rock crystal down with sand until the perfect Skull emerged. Was
it possible that Maya planned this work that could be completed
just in three centuries? One thing is for sure is that the Skull of
Doom is not unique. Several items of the same type and made of
materials similar to quartz were discovered in different parts of
the planet. A whole skeleton of a smaller caliber than the human
one made of jade was discovered in the area of China and Mongolia.
According to various estimates, the skeleton belonged to 3500-2200
B.C. There is some doubt that many of the artifacts are genuine.
One thing is for certain that crystal skulls give much pleasure to
audacious researchers.