CRYSTAL SKULLS

There are several sculpted quartz crystal skulls - portraying human skulls in both natural and miniature scales - that are reportedly of ancient Mesoamerican origin. Of the examples made available to scientific scrutiny, none have been proven to be of ancient manufacture nor Mesoamerican origin - instead, most are of 19th-20th century European origin, displaying traces of modern tools/machinery and modern grinding/polishing compounds. None of the known crystal skulls in museum (or private) collections have documented proof of their origins - such as being found in an archaeological excavation, etc. Though some skulls may have stories or legends of archaeological provenience - such as the famous Mitchell-Hedges Skull [photo above] - no known archaeological field reports verify these claims.

At a stylistic level [note: I am a specialist in Mesoamerican iconography, having a PhD dissertation and academic publications on the subject], the lapidary/art style of the crystal skulls does not reflect the style of known Mesoamerican stone artifacts. In simple terms - they do not look like Mesoamerican stone objects, they are stylistically "off." Also, though some artifacts of quartz crystal have been recovered from Mesoamerican archaeological sites, quartz (and crystals) do not appear to have been of great importance among ancient Mesoamerican societies (beyond novelty and some aesthetic appeal) - there are no (legitimate) sources that indicate that crystals figured into ancient Mesoamerican religious or spiritual beliefs. However, several modern Mesoamerican religious practices do incorporate crystals (such as some Yucatec Quiché Maya divination practices).

COATLICUE

Coatlicue (kō•ä•tlē•kwā) "Snake Skirt" - A Precolumbian Aztec (and Central Mexican) primordial creation deity. She is often portrayed with the head of a serpent (or double-serpent); a necklace of human hearts, hands, and skulls; a skirt of woven / intertwined snakes; and clawed hands and feet (for digging graves). She gave birth to the Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl, Xolotl, Coyolxauhqui, the four hundred Çentzon Huitznahua, and the solar hero-god Huitzilopochtli.

After the birth of her first set of children, Coatlicue became pregnant from a ball of feathers (generated while she was sweeping out a temple), and her eldest daughter Coyolxauhqui viewed this as an abomination and attempted to murder her mother (with the assistance of her four hundred other siblings, the Çentzon Huitznahua). The newborn Huitzilopochtli emerged from his mother fully grown and armed for combat. He dismembered his elder sister Coyolxauhqui for her treachery (and threw her head into the sky to become the Moon) and the Çentzon Huitznahua were cast into the southern skies to become the stars.

The above statue of Coatlicue was found in 1790, below the Zocalo (city plaza) of Mexico City.

Resources:
• The Wikipedia entry for Coatlicue.

• Mary Miller and Karl Taube's "An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya."