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On May 22, 2008 the new Indiana Jones’ movie, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” will be released. The movie is based on real archaeological artifacts known as crystal skulls that were discovered in the 19th century.

The May/June issue of Archaeology magazine has a good article explaining the mystery of the crystal skulls. The promotional introduction to the article describes the work of Jane MacLaren Walsh, a Smithsonian anthropologist:

Along with superstars like Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, and Shia Le Bouf, the newest Indiana Jones movie promises to showcase one of the most enigmatic classes of artifacts known to archaeologists, crystal skulls that first surfaced in the 19th century and that specialists attributed to various “ancient Mesoamerican” cultures. In this article, Smithsonian anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh shares her own adventures analyzing the artifacts that inspired Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in theaters May 22), and details her efforts tracking down a mysterious “obtainer of rare antiquities” who may have held the key to the origin of these exotic objects.

This is a good article. I can’t wait to see the movie next month.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Crystal Skulls, Indiana Jones