THE crystal skulls often have a important role inside the plots of Fantasy or adventure productslike books, films and video games set in the world ofarcheology or of the superstitions of the pre -Columbian civilizations Mesoamerican, such as i Maya they Aztec. In reality, to date, There is no proof that these objects may have been produced in Mexicoand indeed, the research seem to suggest that it is fake Arte Products in Europe in the 19th and 20th century. At the turn of the two centuries, theinterest in ancient and exotic objects In Europe and the United States it was so large and profitable that a parallel economy was formed for the production of counterfeit of different naturethe objects associated with the different were particularly lucky pre -Columbian cultures because of their aesthetic peculiarities and the reference to a supernatural sphere.
The crystal skulls, made starting from Quartz blocksbegan to spread to Europe starting from second half of the nineteenth century. At the time, the interest in ancient pre -Columbian civilizations was such that many important museums, including the British Museum in Londonwanted to buy from the numerous Antiques and sellers of antiquity who at the time did golden business. Raid finds from archaeological sites all over the world or false arts made artfully. Considering that the skeletal figures were widespread in the Mayan and Aztec art, At the time, the problem of the authenticity of the artifacts was not posted. Particularly active in the profitable sale of pre -Columbian crystal skulls was the French antiquarian Eugène Boban (1834-1908), following Maximilian of Habsburg during his unfortunate domination of Mexico (1864-1867). To date it seems that many of the crystal skulls present in several European and American museums they were sold by Boban. On the basis of the archive research of the museums, it seems that the vast majority of the well -known crystal skulls are attributable in one way or another to the French antiquarian.
There true nature Of these artifacts that so much luck had in the western imagination, it emerged starting from second half of the twentieth centurythanks to numerous research. First of all, it was highlighted how both in the literature and in the oral tradition of Mesoamerican Civilization there is no reference to crystal skulls; Subsequently, it proved to be how the specimens present in the different museums they had no link with any known archaeological sitewhether this had been scientifically or raided by the tombaroli. Also the chemical analysis and on processing techniques They showed how these objects were false products in Europe: the crystal skulls would in fact have been made with Rather common objects in the jewelry workshops and for the processing of the crystal of the mid -nineteenth centurylike Trapani and Scalpellini.
The processing techniques would therefore be incompatible with the Mayan or Azteche ones. Furthermore. The quartz in which they were carved It does not come from Mexicobut from Brazil or from Madagascar. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the town of Hydar-Obersteinin Germany, was quite famous for the ability of the craftsmen in the processing of quartz from the Brazilian deposits and the more accredited theory sees the crystal skulls Produced precisely in the hydar-Oberstein workshops and stopped around the world from Eugène Bobanthe real “inventor” of crystal skulls.
