The crystal skull of Akator
A crystal skull is a crystalline object shaped like a cranium, some of which have supernatural properties. There were several skulls scattered worldwide, but all held connections tracing to the pre-Columbian Americas.
Indiana Jones remarked that he had stumbled upon half of them in his journal. Of the skulls discovered, many had different powers attributed to them, frequently leading to death or disaster.
History[]
The Crystal Skull of Cozan
Thirteen elongated skulls resided in the ancient kingdom of Akator with unearthly origins embodying the gods of the Ugha, one of which was looted from Akator by Francisco de Orellana around 1546. Another was recovered in 1947 from the wreckage of an unknown object that had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico.[1]
The Mitchell-Hedges Skull, which eventually took its name from the man who discovered it in Lubaantún, British Honduras in the mid-1920s, was human shaped.[2] The Crystal Skull of Cozan was recovered by Indiana Jones from the country in 1933, an act which saw him branded a grave robber by their authorities.[3]
A Toltec Crystal Skull was found near Lucasio, Mexico towards the middle of the decade during Jones and Marcus Brody's Site R excavations.[4]
Known skulls[]
- The British Museum's Crystal Skull
- Crystal Skull of Akator
- Crystal Skull of Cozan
- Mitchell-Hedges Skull / Skull of Doom
- The Temple of the Crystal Skull's spirit
- Toltec Crystal Skull
Behind the scenes[]
A real crystal skull.
Crystal skulls are real (though none have been authenticated as pre-Columbian in origin, and were most likely fabricated in the mid-19th century or later in Europe[5]). While their real-world paranormal properties are questionable, variations of the theme have been a part of the Indiana Jones canon since 1995 when referenced in Jones' lecture notes in Indiana Jones and the Golden Vampires.[2]
The Crystal Skull of Akator made a cameo in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Wookiee Hunt."
Appearances[]
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Honduras, December 1920" (Cancelled)
- Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates (First mentioned)
- Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs
- Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth
- Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx
- Indiana Jones Adventure World
- Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures
- Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
- "Skull Duggery!" (Mentioned only)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull junior novel
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comic
- Indiana Jones: The Search For Buried Treasure
- LEGO Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Hidden Temple! (Non-canonical appearance)
- LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Indiana Jones and the Golden Vampires
The Lost Chronicles of Young Indiana Jones on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)- The Crystal Skulls
- The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
- Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- The Indiana Jones Handbook
- Indiana Jones: The Official Magazine 3
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Annual 2009
- Indiana Jones action figures (Pack: The Lost Wave)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Indiana Jones and the Golden Vampires
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs
- ↑ Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures
- ↑ British Museum (n.d.-b), Jenkins (2004, p.217), Sax et al. (2008), Smith (2005), Walsh (1997; 2008)
External links[]
- Crystal Skulls - at Leland Chee's blog
- Crystal Skulls - Fact and Fiction - at the StarWars.com message boards
- Crystal skull on Wikipedia
