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The Mystery of the Starchild Skull
© A. Chow 2006
Presented with permission
Investigate the theories relating to the unusual shape of the
Starchild skull. Identify the most compatible theory and support
it with available evidence.
Seventy years ago, in a village southwest of Chihuahua in
Mexico, two human skeletons were discovered by a teenage girl in a
mine tunnel. One was a normal human skeleton and the other was a
smaller deformed skeleton. Only the skulls of both skeletons were
recovered and remain today. Lloyd Pye, an anthropologist, is the
current owner of the skulls. Carbon 14 dating has proven the
skulls were 900 years old. The smaller deformed skeleton’s skull
shape was unusual and its features severely distorted (figure 1),
hence the name Starchild skull.
Figure 1: Front view of the Starchild skull (on
the left)
and the human skull (on the right).
The Starchild fascinated many from anthropologist to surgeons,
ophthalmologist to neuroradiologists. Several theories emerged
over the years: those of human-alien hybrid, cranial binding and
genetic defects.
Initially there were thoughts that the unusual shape of the
skull was due to cranial binding practiced throughout South
America, where the skulls were located. However there were no
signs of forced compressions leading to deformations normally
caused by binding of the skull. Binding that took place in South
American cultural groups always occurred above the inion, the most
prominent projecting point of the occipital bone located at the
base of the skull.3 In the Starchild’s case, the flattening of the
skull extended past the inion (figure 2).
Figure 2: The back of the skull is flat past
the inion.
This proximity to the spine was unattainable by normal skull
binding. If the deformities of the skull were caused by binding,
there would have been deformities evident in the frontal region of
the skull, which was not visible. Furthermore, binding of this kind
would leave a soft spot at the crown of the head, yet the Starchild
skull was well sutured. Thus there is insufficient evidence to
suggest the Starchild skull’s unusual shape was caused by cranial
binding.
Pye, the skull owner, believed that the Starchild was a
human-alien hybrid.1 The theory intrigued many people. Pye asserted
that many of the features of the Starchild were alien in origin. The
depths of the eye sockets of the skull were shallow and distorted
from the normal position. Ophthalmologists Dr. Tony Townsend and Dr.
Hugh Parsons established that the Starchild would have had eyeballs
bulging off the face.5 ‘The Starchild’s neck would have been
one-third to a half the width and volume of a normal neck because
the foramen magnum was shifted forward an inch from its position in
a normal skull.’8 This placed the Starchild skull into the shape and
position of the “Gray” alien (figure 3).9
Figure 3: The “Gray” Alien
The skull had small teeth with new teeth resting in the bone
above, ready to drop down or to replace worn ones, just as aliens
would.10 Radiologist Dr. David Hodges and Pediatric Neuroradiologist
Dr. Ken Poskitt found the brain inside the skull was 1600 cubic
centimetres, 200 c.c. bigger than the standard adult size of 1400
c.c. Radiologist Dr. John Bachynsky found the Starchild did not have
hydrocephaly (the increased accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid
within the ventricles of the brain) as there was no sign of erosion
in the inner table of the skull. Believers of the alien theory
dismissed Crouzon’s syndrome because there was no physical
abnormality of the brain. Furthermore, ‘in paleoanthropology (the
study of ancient animals) a 200 cc increase in brain capacity of a
human type creature warranted the naming of an entirely new
species’.7
Furthermore, Dr. Ted Robinson, a well-respected cranio-facial
plastic surgeon declared that the Starchild could not be classified
into a human deformation of any category.4 He reported “I undertook
an extensive review of current literature on cranofacial
abnormalities, which failed to uncover a single similar example”.5
Dr. Robinson and Vancouver researcher Chad Deetken noted that the
lighter bone density of the Starchild skull was uniformly 40% of
normal human density.6 The symmetry of the skull was astoundingly
high, an unusual feature in cranial pathologies.7 Pye believed that,
given the line of reasoning, the Starchild was of alien descent. He
insisted “there was nothing to account for it, because we’d been
through every book that we could find about human deformities and
there was nothing like it.”2
However all of the ‘evidence’ provided by Pye and alien theorists
was merely a presentation of the differences between the Starchild
skull from normal skulls. Hard evidence as to differences in DNA
materials has not been presented. DNA testing has been interfered
with due to soil acidity of the cave, where the Starchild skull was
buried. A skull of 900 years old and left submerged in the ground,
would have been exposed to the weather, and have reacted to the
minerals in the ground. Thus the shallow eye socket and lighter bone
density of the skull might have been the result of erosion by the
rain water, or reactions to acids or ground minerals. Indeed, the
skull had been exposed to an acidic substance with iron content.22
There was no scientific evidence that the ‘Gray’ alien existed.11
The fact that Dr. Robinson or Pye had not previously encountered a
medical case of the Starchild skull did not lend support to the
Starchild being of alien descent. The image of the “Gray” alien was
conjured up, in line with small and shallow eye sockets with bulging
eyes as recognised in exorbitism (protrusion of eyeball) (Dihaj et
al, 2005, Altintas et al, 1999).12
The reduced neck size probably represented a variant of the norm
and was not unique as has been documented (Ali et al, 2002). London
dentist Dr. Matthew Wilson reported ‘the roots of teeth not erupted
were consistent with those of a child who was about 4½ yrs old’
after close-up x-ray images of the maxilla (figure 4).5 Baby teeth
and impacting permanent teeth were typical for a child aged four or
five at time of death.13
Figure 4: X-ray of the Starchild skull (left)
compared to an X-ray
of the human skull (right)
The reported increase in brain volume in the Starchild is not
unheard of in the present society, since it occurs in genetic
abnormalities such as autism (Aylward et al, 2002). Anthropologist
Dr. Michael Galanty stated that he “didn’t see anything that looked
so outlandish that I couldn’t – I wouldn’t – expect to exist”.14
Anthropologist Dr. Julian Murchison commented that Pye “didn’t
convince me that all other possibilities had been accounted for”.14
One skull alone is insufficient evidence to constitute an alien
race.
The theory that the Starchild skull was the result of a
congenital defect is the typical explanation for any misshapen
human-like skull. Congenital (present at birth) deformities are
usually due to genetic aberrations, an unfavourable environment
within the womb or some unknown reasons. Genetic defects are often
responsible for arbitrary deformations. Specialists Dr. Ted
Robinson, Dr. Mike Kaburda, Dr. David Hodges, Dr. Ken Poskitt, Dr.
Tony Townsend, Dr. Hugh Parsons who studied the skull found unusual
characteristics about the Starchild. 5 'When asked if any known
genetic defect could cause such an unusual cranial deformation, no
expert consulted thus far could name any.’15 Furthermore, the
Starchild's skull was symmetrical and a cranial deformity such as
Plagiocephaly was 'an unsymmetrical condition of the head due to
irregular premature obliteration of coronal suture'.16 The experts
were not able to link the genetic defect to anything they had
previously come across.
Though congenital deformities commonly only affect one area of
the skull and the Starchild had many deformities17, there is
insufficient evidence to rule out genetic defects as a cause for
cranial deformities. While the experts who studied the skull were
not able to classify the Starchild into any category of genetic
defects, they also could not confirm that no such genetic defect
existed.
Extensive research of genetic defects found that symmetrical
cranial deformities exist. ‘Craniosynostosis refers to the early
closing of one or more of the sutures of an infant's head’18,
brachycephaly included. Brachycephaly (Figure 5 & 6) is a recently
well documented condition of the head shape (Sakurai et al, 2001,
Hutchison et al, 2004, Graham et al, 2005).
Figure 5: Brachycephaly
Figure 6: Patient with Brachycephaly
Image provided courtesy of
Cranial Technologies,
www.cranialtech.com
It ‘describes a head that although symmetrical, is abnormally
shaped’19, just as the Starchild skull is symmetrical. Brachycephaly
is caused by bilateral coronal synostosis (the union of separate
bones by bony tissue)23 and sleeping on the back. The Premature
closing of both coronal sutures (line of union in an immovable
articulation between two skull bones)23 also causes Brachycephaly
(figure 5). The Starchild skull had no soft spots as the skull was
well sutured.7 When photographs of the Starchild skull (figure 7)
are compared to sketches of Brachycephaly (Appendix 1) striking
similarities in skull shape are apparent. The Starchild skull fits
into the signs and description of Brachycephaly.
Figure 7: Compare striking similarities with
the Starchild skull
and pictures in the Severity Assessment for Brachycephaly (Appendix
1)
Figure 8: Patient with Crouzon’s syndrome
Through personal communication with Dr. Patricia Hummel, a
specialist on infant head shapes (Hummel et al, 2005), Dr. Hummel
agreed the Starchild had severe brachycephaly. Furthermore, Dr.
Jeffrey A. Fearon from The Craniofacial Center commented that ‘The
skull shape is clearly brachycephalic (short from front to back).’
He ‘suspects some kind of chromosomal anomaly, which may have
involved the metopic suture (which would explain the eyes being
closer together).’ Current researched evidence suggests strongly
that the Starchild suffered from a congenital defect, specifically
Brachycephaly and exorbitism. The evidence supports the fact that
the Starchild was not an alien, as it suffered from various human
congenital defects that are known and well documented.
© A. Chow 2006
Ancient History
Bibliography
1 Pye, L. Bean, M. (2006).The Starchild Project. [on
line]. Accessed 12/3/2006. Available:<http://www.qsl.net/w5www/starchild.html>
2 UFO Casebook Domain. (2004). Alien Skull Mystery
Continues. [on line]. Accessed 1/3/2006. Available:<http://ufocasebook.com/starchild.html>
3 Farlex. (2005). Inion. [on line]. Accessed 1/3/2006.
Available:<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/inion>
4 Pye, L. (2002). Starchild Update. [on line]. Accessed
28/2/2006. Available:<http://www.starchildproject.com/NewsJul2002.html>
5 Robinson, T. (2006). Preliminary Analysis of a 'human
like' skull. [on line]. Accessed 28/2/2006. Available:<http://www.book-of-thoth.com/article897.html>
6 Pye, L. (2000). UFO Enigma. [on line]. Accessed
28/2/2006. Available:<http://www.destinationspace.net/ufo/editorial/starchild.asp>
7 World-Mysteries. (2006). Mystery Skulls. [on line].
Accessed 28/2/2006. Available:<http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_6.htm>
8 Hooper, B. Pye, L. (1999). Essays. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.lloydpye.com/A-StarDebate.htm>
9 Pye, L. (1999). The Starchild Debate. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.greatdreams.com/starchld.htm
>
10 Pye, L. (2005). Lloyd Pye’s Starchild Project. [on
line]. Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.jufo.freeserve.co.uk/starchild.html>
11 Unexplained Mysteries. (2006). Grays. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/articlegray.shtml>
12 Tip Top Website. (2006). Craniosynostosis. [on
line]. Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index.php?username=papi&page=3>
13 Pye, L. Bean, M. (2006).The Starchild Project. [on
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14 W*USA 9 & Gannett Co., Inc. (2004). Alien Skull
Mystery Continues. [on line]. Accessed 12/3/2006.
Available:<http://www.wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=34268>
15 Hooper, B. Pye, L. (2004). The Starchild Project.
[on line]. Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.ufoarea.com/evolution_starchild.html>
16 Fung, K. Glossary on osseous malformations of the
skull and vertebral column. [on line]. Accessed 21/2/2006.
Available:<http://moon.ouhsc.edu/kfung/JTY1/NeuroHelp/ZNY0BS02.htm
17 Zarkonnen. (2004). Starchild Skull. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1670943>
18 Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery. (2006).
Craniosynostosis. [on line]. Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:< http://www.kidsplastsurg.com/craniosynostosis.html
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19 Med-Policy. (2006). Cranial Orthosis. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:< http:// www.bluecrosswisconsin.com/provider/medpolicy/policies/OR-PR/cranial_orthosis.html>
22 McDonald, W. (1999) Forensic Faces. [on line].
Accessed 21/2/2006. Available:<http://www.alienufoart.com/ForensicFaces.htm>
23 Venes, D. Thomas, C. Taber, C. (2005). Taber's
Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. The F.A. Davis Company.
Dihaj S, Abada A, Baha Ali T, Benhaddou M, Rais L,
Hamdani M, Amraoui A, Zaghloul K. (2005). Apert syndrome: a reported
observation. Pubmed.
Altintas AG, Gul Aksoy FG, Altintas CS, Midillioglu IK,
Duman S. (1999). Evaluation of findings in Crouzon's syndrome.
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Esbaita EY. (2002). Cervical spine abnormalities associated with
Down syndrome. Pubmed.
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F. Sparks, BS and N. Singh, BS. (2002). Effects of age on brain
volume and head circumference in autism. Pubmed.
Hutchison BL, Hutchison LA, Thompson JM, Mitchell EA.
(2004). Quantification of plagiocephaly and brachycephaly in infants
using a digital photographic technique. Department of Pediatrics,
University of Auckland, New Zealand. Pubmed.
Graham JM Jr, Kreutzman J, Earl D, Halberg A, Samayoa
C, Guo, X. (2005). Deformational brachycephaly in supine-sleeping
infants. Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
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Eccentric
Lives and Peculiar Notions
by John Michell |
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Book Description
The passionately misguided individuals profiled in this
entertaining book form an unforgettable portrait of human imagination
run wild.
Never has so much energy been poured into such oddly misbegotten
ideas, inventions, enterprises and movements. The 22 individuals and
groups described here with wit and understanding represent the widest
range of true eccentricity. Lady Blount believes that the earth is
flat; Cyrus Teed, that it is a hollow shell with us on the inside;
Baron de Guldenstubbe that statues write him letters. Nesta Webster
devotes her life to exposing international conspiracies; John Carden
to pestering one young lady. Geoffrey Pyke invents a giant battleship
made of ice; and Amanda Feilding and Joey Mellen live in peace and
prosperity after drilling holes in their heads. The peculiarities of
their beliefs are surpassed only by the boundless enthusiasm with
which they defend them, and their stories are all here, told in John
Michell's lively prose and accompanied by historic photographs and
drawings.
About the Author
John Michell was a Russian interpreter and Chartered
Surveyor before publishing his first book, The Flying Saucer Vision,
in 1967. This and its successor, The View Over Atlantis (1969), helped
to change the attitudes of a whole generation to the culture, wisdom
and science of ancient societies. His other books include The Earth
Spirit, A Little History of Astro Archaeology, Simulacra,
Megalithomania, The New View Over Atlantis, and, with Robert Rickard,
Phenomena and Living Wonders. He lives in London.
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Search
for Ancient Wisdom (Hybrid)
by Cmcbx 050, Publishing Cambrix
CD-ROM |
|
Description
A multimedia journal that chronicles a startling 5-year investigation of
ancient events, places, peoples and philosophies. Discover that many modern
scientific, technological and medical mysteries have already been solved by
archaic societies. Probe through ruins to uncover bizarre historical events,
human remains and amazing objects. Videos from every corner of the globe and
hundreds of color photos help you explore some of the world's most fascinating
secrets.
|
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|
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The
Mystery of the Crystal Skulls: A Real Life Detective Story
of the Ancient World
by Chris Morton, Ceri Louise Thomas |
|
An old Native American legend tells of thirteen
life-size crystal skulls, which are said to hold crucial
information about humankind's true purpose and future
destiny. The skulls would be discovered and their secrets
revealed when the human race was sufficiently developed. The
authors hear of this legend while in the jungles of Belize
and set out on a quest to discover its truth.
"The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls" follows their
journey from Maya temples to the British Museum, the
Smithsonian, and to the crystal laboratories of
Hewlett-Packard, where tests lead one scientist to conclude,
"This {crystal} skull should not even
exist."
In the end, shamans and native elders reveal the sacred
knowledge the skulls contain and answer the questions this
enduring mystery raises:
Are the skulls artifacts from the lost civilization of
Atlantis, or are they extraterrestrial in origin?
Made from piezo-electric quartz crystal, used in today's
computers, are the skulls information storage devices?
Do they really posses telepathic qualities, allowing us to
see deep into the past and predict the future?
What is the message they bring about future earth changes
and the destiny of humanity?
|
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The
Mystery of the Crystal Skulls
by Chris Morton, Ceri Louise Thomas
Chris Morton and Ceri Thomas have journeyed all
over the world meeting people who could tell them about the
crystal skulls, including the indigenous peoples, psychics,
archaeologists and scientists. This text reveals their
acquired knowledge from the travels. |
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Book Description
The crystal skulls are a mystery as profound as the Pyramids
of Egypt, the Nazca Lines of Peru, or Stonehenge. Many
indigenous people speak of their remarkable magical and
healing properties, but nobody really knows where they came
from or what they were used for. Were they left behind after
the destruction of a previous world, such as Atlantis? Are
they simply ingenious modern fakes or can they really enable
us to see deeply into the past and predict the future?
Searching for the answers takes the authors on a fantastic
odyssey through both the physical and the spiritual world.
After hearing stories of an old native American legend that
describes the existence of thirteen ancient crystal skulls,
that are said to speak or sing and hold important
information about the origins, purpose and destiny of
mankind. The authors set out on their own quest to find the
truth about the skulls. They encounter psychics, UFO
hunters, shamans, mystics and medicine men on a journey of
discovery that takes them from the British Museum in London
to the deserts of the United States, from the science labs
of Hewlett Packard to the cold snows of Canada and the
tropical jungles of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. At sacred
gatherings of native elders they learn of ancient wisdom
kept secret for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. They
hear of startling prophecies concerning events that will
happen on this Earth in the immediate future, prophecies
that question the very survival of the human species on this
small island we call home. This is the story of their
remarkable discoveries. |
The Starchild Project
Deformed Mystery Skulls
Crystal Skulls
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The
Mysterious Crystal Skulls, an article by Joshua Shapiro
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Society
of Crystal Skulls, International
Founded in New York in 1945 by Mr. F. R. 'Nick' Nocerino,
the Society of Crystal Skulls, International is an organization
devoted to research and education in the specific area of
crystal skulls. Crystal Skull Venders ARE included within.
www.crystalskullsociety.org
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The
Mysterious Crystal Skulls
Explore the crystal skull with Joshua Shapiro. Products and
services on this myserious skull available, and more.
www.v-j-enterprises.com/cs.html
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Amethyst
Crystal Skull
The Amethyst Skull This skull is carved from dark purple
amethyst. It has temporal indentations on each side of the
elongated brain case. The nose and teeth are almost identical to
the Mayan. It weighs approximately 8 pounds. www.crystalskullsociety.org/amethyst.htm
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Crystal
Skulls: Skeletons of a Mysterious Past
Crystals have been regarded as magical talismans since the
Middle Ages, and are today the sine qua non of the New Age
movement. Skulls, meanwhile, are humanity's foremost symbol of
death, and a powerful icon in the visual vocabularies of
cultures all over the globe. Parascope
www.parascope.com/articles/0197/skull_in.htm
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Morgana's
Observatory: Crystal Skulls
Information and links concerning these enigmatic artifacts.
www.dreamscape.com/morgana/nereid2.htm
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