Mayan Crystal Skulls, Chipotle BBQ & Jicama Shrimp Salad

Most of you by now have trekked to the theatre to see the latest Harrison Ford movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The fictional character and famed archaeologist is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious crystal skulls. As the credits roll I don't know that anyone has been enlightened and the secret is still pretty much intact.

The 13 crystal skulls in the movie stem from an ancient Mayan legend passed down through the ages. The story

goes that in ancient times there were 13 skulls together in unity, the origin of which is unknown. Those who have been in the presence of the skulls tell stories of feeling an energy and seeing them emit light and moving images of ancient civilizations much like a crystal ball or digital projector. One of my parent's compadres swears that in the 1980's he experienced this with his very own eyes. (I did have to ask if there was tequila involved.) These beliefs live on in the jungles of southern Mexico among the Lacandon, the last unassimilated Mayans, many of whom still worship the skulls.

According to the legend, all 13 skulls must be found before December 21, 2012. This marks the last day of the Mayan calendar cycle which has lasted 5,126 years. On that date the earth will be knocked off its axis, unless the thirteen skulls are brought together and aligned properly. People run the gamut on their belief of what will happen when we get knocked off our axis. Some believe it will be end of the world or Doomsday (these of course are the same people who believed in Y2K) and others believe it will be the start of a New Era of Enlightment or Consciousness.

The skulls were lost in history. But, in the past 100 years one by one the skulls have re-surfaced and been found in obscure places on many continents. Many believe the skulls are being found now because the time is coming closer and closer to when they must all be reunited.

Skeptical archeologists believe that the life-sized crystal skulls that are being found are actually 19th century fakes. Yet the origins and the manufacturing of the skulls remain inexplicable. World Mystery Research Center reports that some of ancient skulls have been analyzed at Hewlett-Packard in Silicon Valley, a manufacturer of printers and computer systems, which has one of the most extensive scientific and crystal research laboratories in the world.

The HP scientists, who had a chance to work with these crystal skulls were hard pressed to explain how a primitive culture could have carved crystal into such precise shapes and especially against the natural axis of the crystal without the use of sophisticated tools.

And while carbon testing has become more sophisticated and accurate in estimating the age of an artifact, you can't carbon-date an item that has no carbon in it.

Today, not all of the skulls have been found nor have they been reunited. So, the mystery continues...

Crystal Skull History >