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).

THE UDJAT / WADJET

The Udjat / Wadjet (spelled w3dyt in hieroglyphic texts) - Also known as the "Eye of Horus," this ancient Egyptian motif originates from an early predynastic deity, the cobra goddess Wadjet, who would later be viewed as the patron and protector of Lower Egypt. Being an early goddess prototype, many of her features were "inherited" by later goddesses; the goddesses Bastet (a lion-headed solar/lunar goddess), Hathor (Mehturt) (a cow-goddess who represented the Milky Way), and Mut (a primordial creation goddess) are often portrayed with the eye of Wadjet. The falcon-headed Sun god and creation deity Ra (Rê) (and later Horus) was associated with the Wadjet eye - several of the features of this eye motif appear to be derived from the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

The "right eye" orientation of this motif usually represents the Sun, while the left eye represents the Moon - the two combined represent the right and left eyes of the sky. There is a range of stories regarding the Sun's (Ra (Rê)) loss of his eye - lost during an eclipse or a prolonged storm - and the ibis-headed god of judgement Thoth (ḏḥwty) restored the eye to the face of the Sun. A similar story relates that Set (swtḫ), the evil god of the desert and chaos, swallowed the crescent Moon, and Thoth hit him with a spear, forcing him to vomit up the Moon. Both of these stories convey the role of Thoth as a custodian/guardian of the Wadjet eyes.

The frequency of Wadjet eye amulets in the archaeological record is a testament to its importance in dynastic Egyptian society. Made of a range of materials - from precious gold to common faience - these pendants were worn by both the living and the dead (mummies), to bestow upon the wearer the divine power of the stability of the Sun and/or the Moon. Chapter 140 of the Book of the Dead instructs to place two Wadjets (one of lapis lazuli and one of amethyst or carnelian) upon the deceased (the mummy), which will ensure him a seat upon the Barge of Ra (which travels across the heavens) and thus make him a god. Painted Wadjet eyes appear on Egyptian sarcophagi and funerary materials as early as the 6th Dynasty.

It is likely that this eye motif is related to (and may be the origin of several examples of) "divine/protective eye" and "evil eye" motifs throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. Some suggest that this motif is the origin of the modern Rx (℞) "prescription symbol."

Resources:
• E.A. Wallace Budge, "Amulets and Superstitions."

• The Wikipedia page on the Eye of Horus.

ZOMBIES

Zombie (zäm-bē) - Though "zombie" is now used as a general term for a person (or animal) that has reanimated after death, the term "zombie" has a specific meaning in the world of Vodou, Vodun, and Voodoo. The word "zombie" comes from the Louisiana or Haitian Creole term "zonbi" (zän•bē), which refers to a person who died and was reanimated by supernatural means, and moves about under the control of a bokor (a priest-sorcerer). This term "zonbi" is likely related to the word for "spirit" or "ghost" among certain languages of the Bantoid language subfamily of Africa - for example the Kimbundu word "nzúmbe" (nzüm•bā) "ghost," or the Kikongo word "nzambi" (nzȯm•bē) "spirit of a dead person."

In 1982, Canadian ethnobotanist Wade Davis (then a graduate student at Harvard) traveled to Haiti to investigate the claims of "zombification" - turning someone into a zombie by pharmacological means. In his work among Haitian Vodou priest-sorcerers, Davis discovered that a powder called "coup de poudre" ("strike of powder") - when introduced into the blood stream (through an open wound, etc.) - produces a death-like state for several days, though the poisoned person remains conscious and aware during this period. Further analysis of samples of these powders revealed a common pharmacological agent - tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin (te•trō•də•ˈtäk•sən) is a strong neurotoxin (which generates paralysis) found naturally in the tissues of several animals; in the case of coup de poudre, it appears to have come from local species of pufferfish. Days later, the victim is claimed in the cemetery, buried in a coffin. The victim is then exposed to a second compound, composed of datura - this compound revives the victim from the tetrodotoxin paralysis and can generate amnesia and dissociation, putting the "zombified" person into a controllable stupor.

Davis's work also focussed on a case study of zombification, a Haitian man by the name of Clarivius Narcisse. Narcisse had been poisoned and presumed dead on May 2, 1962. He was recovered from his burial, drugged with a datura-based compound, and was made to work as a slave (among other zombies) on a sugar plantation. The bokor who controlled him died two years later, and Narcisse had eventually recovered (most of) his faculties and rejoined his family.

According to How Stuff Works: "Article 246 of the Haitian Penal Code classifies the administration of a substance that creates a prolonged period of lethargy, without causing death, as attempted murder. If the substance causes the appearance of death and results in the burial of the victim, the act is classified as murder." This is anti-zombification legislation.

Resources:
• Wade Davis, "The Serpent and the Rainbow".

• Wikipedia pages on Clairvius Narcisse and zombies.

• The How Stuff Works page on zombification.

• Max Brooks, "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" a brilliant fiction work about a zombie pandemic.