The Crystal Skull

by USC Aiken Student (BD)

Skull from the British Museum

Crystal skulls sometimes referred to as rock crystals are carved skulls that came about beginning around the 19th century and are considered works of art. Some are crystal clear and some are smoky colored. Some of them are human sized with fine detail while others are small and have less detail. Some people think it is a myth but according to Richard A. Lovett and Scot Hoffman, “We believe the Crystal Skulls are a form of computer which are able to record energy and vibration that occur round them.” “The skull will pictorially replay all events or images of the people who have come into contact with them (i.e. they contain the history of our world).” Thousands of them are produced in China, Brazil, and Germany each year but cost very little because they are mainly purchased by individuals because of their beliefs that they contain magical powers. There are many who are fascinated by crystal skulls and spend a lot of money on fakes so that they can display them in their own collection or have them because of their belief in the magical powers that not anyone can possess. Authentic skulls originated in Mexico and in Central America and no one really knows who made them or why.

Though the crystal skulls have had many archaeologists curious for years, there are stories about the skulls that they were thought to have supernatural powers and those that delve in the paranormal would invest in them. Some have the belief that they are associated with death and mortality. Mysteries surrounding the skulls claimed that they possessed supernatural powers with the ability to heal and expand psychic abilities and powers from people who have been in the presence of the skulls. There are dozens of these skulls in private and public collections but it is unclear as to how many because of the many fakes that are in circulation. Many of these skulls were carved thousands of years ago by ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. The 13 Crystal Skulls are shared by the original peoples of the Mayan and Aztecan tribes along with Native Americans as to their origin. That is supposedly where they originated from used by shamans or so called witch doctors in their healing rituals and each skull supposedly contained particular information needed and that one is no good without the other, hence the set together contain the information. Recent electron microscope analysis of skulls by British Museum and the Smithsonian Institute revealed markings could have only been made with modern carving tools. Thus proving that some were fake. (Electron microscopes are used because of it has the ability of high magnification and resolution as it uses beams instead of light.) Both of the museums estimate their skulls to date to sometime in the mid to late 1800’s. At that time most were interested in different pieces that were found in excavations to see if they were from ancient tribes and civilizations to display.

Though most of the information on the crystal skulls are mainly superstitious, there are a lot of people that believe in their abilities to cure illnesses such as cancer and other diseases. There are those that also believe that they can possess the ability to cause great harm as well if they have the correct information in order to “cast a spell” on someone. They may even come to the belief that they can tell the future of the world. If that were the case there would be many of us with crystal skulls in our bedrooms, in our cars, and walking around with one on our key chains similar to the rabbit’s foot. It does not matter whether we have the correct words to conjure up a certain spell or not it’s just the idea of what we believe in. This is usually why a person believing in something strong enough and hard enough will make the mind believe anything. We should all remember that the mind is a powerful thing and we should not take our thoughts lightly.

Work Cited:
Alltime Conspiracies.“The Mystery of The Crystal Skulls.” Youtube, 14 Feb. 2015, https://youtu.be/bUm-nIBgNMk

Richard A. Lovett and Scot Hoffman. “Crystal Skulls.” National Geographic. 2015, Accessed 22 Oct. 2018. 2 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/crystal-skulls/

“13 Crystal Skulls.” Crystal Skulls, 2018, Accessed 16 October 2018. 3 http://www.crystalskulls.com/13-crystal-skulls.html.

Chalgasiewicz, Rafal. The Crystal skull at the British Museum, 2009, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Crystal_skull_british_museum_random9834672.jpg/798px-Crystal_skull_british_museum_random9834672.jpg

“Crystal Healing.” Crystal Skulls, 2008, Accessed 16 October 2018. http://www.crystalskulls.com/crystal-healing.html.

Pruitt, Sarah. “What are the Crystal Skulls?” History, 1 July 2015, Web. Accessed 16 October 2018.


Links for Further Research:
Crystal Skulls
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/crystal-skulls
This web source describes what crystal skulls are and where they come from. This website also explains how they look and last but not least how many fake skulls are produced each year.

Amazing Crystal Skulls
http://www.crystalskulls.com/index.html
This website is stacked with tone of information about the crystal and the mind-blowing powers that these skulls contain. This website has multiple many tags that you can click on that contain different information about the skulls.

Crystal Skull World Day
http://www.crystalskullworldday.com/
In this website, it contains different subtitles that talk about the powers of the skulls, the size and what they are made of, where they come from, where you can find these famous crystal skulls, etc.

Catacombs of Paris

Yasmine Samuel
 
 

 
 
Paris is known as the city of love and romance, however not many know that under this beautiful city is remains of the dead. Beneath the city lie the Catacombs of Paris, which was built in 1700’s. It is a series of old caves, quarries, and tunnels aligned with bones of the dead, that stretches 186 miles. Catacombs are mostly found throughout the Mediterranean, Rome, Paris, and Italy, but they originated in the Middle East. However the Catacombs of Paris came about after a long spring rain caused the Les Innocents to collapse and the rotten bodies to flow over in the neighboring property. Before catacombs were created, LES INNOCENTS  was the largest cemetery in France, however it became over populated. In 1786 the quarries were blessed and consecrated turning them into the Paris Catacombs. It took two years for all the remains from the Les Innocents and all the other cemeteries in Paris to be transferred and buried in the catacombs. Over six million skulls and bones are along the walls of the underground tunnel. The Catacombs of Paris is open to the public, however the people only has access to a small fraction because people would get lost and eventually die since the catacombs branches off.

 
Even though it is illegal and there is a seventy- seven dollar fine for roaming certain parts of the Paris Catacombs; they are still roamed clandestine groups sometimes spend day and night below the city. CATAPHILES, who love the Paris underground, seek peace and quiet, and it is their way of escaping the laws of the city. They are quite welcoming because being underground with people that have the same interest, there is a sense of equality, something that does not exist to them above the city. Vast majority of cataphiles are young males, who have behavioral issues and smoke weed. Cataphiles get in the Catacombs of Paris by using secret entrances in sewers, man hole, and more. Nobody knows for sure because information about where to find them is kept a secret and not shared with outsiders. Some use the catacombs as canvas for artwork, take photos, draw maps, and others use it as a place to party at a cheaper cost in a more juvenile atmosphere than the bars and clubs. Since most of their time is spent underground, cataphiles furnishes certain parts with stone benches and tables to rest and socialize.
 
According to John Law, one of the founders of the San Francisco Suicide Club that in the 1970s arranged events inside off- limits bridge towers and vacant hospitals. Thought of the Catacombs of Paris as an astonishing place that him and the group of explores he was with would remember the experience greatly—if they make it out alive. Experiencing first-hand how cataphiles roam underground without a map, possibly of falling into shafts, and passing many confusing chamber and crawl spaces not knowing where or what it led to. John Law and his team experience proves how people who are not reallyfamiliar with the Catacombs of Paris risk their life. Simply because they are not familiar with all the portals that lead back to the city surface.
 
Works cited:
Breeden Aurelien. “The Secret is out on a Cherished Underground Haven.” Nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 20 Oct 2014. Web. 14 Oct 2015.

Heritageinaction. “Down the Rabbit Hole- Letting Paris’s Hidden Subculture of Tunnels.” Hertiageinaction.wordpress.com. Heritage in Action, 11 June 2012. Web. 19 Oct 2015.

“Paris’ Les Innocents Cemetery.” Paris-promenades.com. Paris-Promenades, n.d. Web.20 Oct 2015.
Solis Julia. “Paris’s Urban Underground.” NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic Society, 2007. Web. 19 Oct 2015.
 
Links for further research: 
National Geographic http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/paris-underground/shea-text
Gives insight about the history of the Paris Catacombs, but also information about how they are today.

Les Catacombes Historie de Paris http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/catacombs/more-2000-years-history
Gives information and important dates about the Paris Catacombs and provides the things visitors see when touring it.

What Lies Beneath; The discovery of A Cinema Below the Streets of Paris Has Drawn http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
Tells about how the use of Paris Catacombs has changed as time progressed, and how much of a risk cataphiles take to be underground.