Nothing evokes such a strange mixture of fear and curiosity, or forces us to confront our own mortality, more than human skulls. When skulls are discovered that are physically very different from how we expect human skulls to look - often unique in their shape, structure and bone composition - we find ourselves in the curious position of trying to understand how and why these extraordinary artefacts exist.

Of course it's possible that there are rational explanations for these anomalous discoveries. Some researchers for example have proposed that the skulls may be illustrations of ancient cultural traditions, while others suggest that some can be attributed to specific medical conditions.

However, a growing number of researchers support the theory that man's evolution could be the result of genetic engineering by extraterrestrial cultures (alien intervention theory), and believe that at least some of the skulls could offer DNA evidence of such alien contact.

These alternative theories, along with related research into the origins of these skulls, are slowly beginning to challenge the mainstream scientific paradigm regarding human evolution, and are drawing attention to our lack of knowledge about what occurred in humanity's distant past.

The Star Child
Without doubt one of the most famous of these anomalous skulls is the so-called Star Child skull, which was given to researcher Lloyd Pye by a couple from Texas in 2001. According to many legends in Central America, ‘Star People’ would sometimes visit the earth and mate with certain women, who would subsequently give birth to a hybrid child; a ‘Star Child’. Such a child would be considered a great blessing and was raised and nurtured by the whole community. When the child reached between five and eight years of age the Star People would return to collect it and take it to their own world.

The story behind the discovery of the Star Child skull was not officially documented at the time but according to Pye, a teenager vacationing with her parents in Mexico discovered it. The body of what was clearly a young child was unearthed from a shallow grave in a cave where it had been buried with its mother. The girl took the remains home where she kept the two skulls for the next fifty or so years. How much of that history is true and how much is urban legend will never be known for sure, but from these uncertain origins has grown an enigma that has baffled science. Extensive tests have proved that this is a genuine skull, and not a hoax. Further analysis has also yielded some amazing results which suggest that that the skull is very unique indeed.

Commentators who are predisposed to be defensive of mainstream science and of the established paradigm naturally accuse Pye of quackery and pseudoscience but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Pye has worked with tireless determination to encourage independent analysis of the skull, which has been examined by eleven different experts in laboratories across the world. Tests carried out on it by these independent scientists on the DNA and x-rays of the skull consistently point to it being very much out of the ordinary.

One immediately obvious characteristic is the skull's incredible volume. The average volume for a human skull is 1400 cubic centimetres (cc). In contrast, the volume of the Star Child's skull is 1600 cc, far greater than the average for adult humans. If this Star Child had survived to adulthood, its brain capacity would have grown to over 1800 cc - far beyond the expected human average. Analysis of the skull has revealed that the bone is 50% thicker and stronger than a normal human skull, and that it contains as yet unidentified microscopic fibres as well as traces of aluminium, which is toxic to humans.

A Rational Explanation?

The fact that the Star Child skull is extremely abnormal is undisputed. Critics of the alien-human hybrid theory put forward the suggestion that congenital defects are the likely cause of the peculiar development of the child’s skull. Amongst the medical explanations proposed are craniofacial disorders such as Crouzon syndrome, Apert syndrome and Hydrocephalus (water on the brain), with most critics citing the latter as being the most likely diagnosis. According to doctors, infants suffering from Crouzon or Apert syndrome are more likely to also suffer from hydrocephalus.

So in theory the Star Child could have suffered from a combination of these defects. When the physical effects of hydrocephalus are compared to the Star Child skull, there's certainly a strong visual similarity between the two. However, supporters of the hydrocephalus theory have yet to replicate the results of the Star Child laboratory tests with comparable tests on a skull with Hydrocephalus. A similarity in these test results would have lent credence to the Hydrocephalus theory by showing that the microbiological anomalies found in the Star Child’s bone are likely the result of a known condition. But since this wasn't the case, it’s fair to say that, while critics continue to accuse Pye of pseudoscience, their own theory remains speculative at best.

Whether further analysis of the Star Child skull will eventually provide us with evidence of genetic manipulation by an extraterrestrial culture, or will simply confirm another example of the genetic abnormalities that Mother Nature can randomly throw our way, remains to be seen. Until then, we have to be open minded to any and all possibilities, including the alien – human hybrid one.

The Second Star Child
While many people are aware of the Star Child skull, few people realise that a second anomalous skull was discovered a few years ago in Uberaba, Brazil. The mummified remains of the second Star Child are housed in the Wilson Estanovic Museum of Natural History in Uberaba. Physically, there are clearly differences between the two skulls. Like Pye's specimen, the skull is clearly that of an infant, yet it is about twice the size of a normal adult human skull. As the photograph illustrates, the size of the head is completely out of proportion in relation to the rest of the small body, which only measures about 50 centimetres (20 inches) in length.

Another interesting thing about this child is that it has six toes. A recurring observation made by abductees is that the aliens they encountered had six fingers. Polydactily (having an extra toe or finger) is not so unusual in itself, but if this child is indeed an alien – human hybrid then we have to at least consider the interventionists' theory that polydactily could be a genetic throwback to DNA manipulation that occurred in Earth's ancient past. Could past DNA manipulation account for the fact that this gene surfaces from time to time in humans today? Incidentally, it is also quite common for giants to have six fingers or toes.

The Horned Skull
The existence of what appears to be a horned human skull is probably one of the most controversial artefacts in existence, and certainly not one that medical science can easily explain away. The skull is said to have been discovered in France between 1920 and 1940, but its current whereabouts are unknown. Surnateum, The Museum of Supernatural History, however, claims to have analysed the skull. Their analysis demonstrated that the horns were genuinely part of the skull. The analysis concluded: ‘An in-depth examination and X-rays leave no room for doubt: the skull is not a forgery.’

It appears that this horned skull was not the only one of its kind. Giant skeletons of horned men over seven feet tall are reported to have been exhumed from an ancient burial mound in the USA in the 1880s. It was estimated that the bodies were buried around 1200 AD. Like the horned skull in the photo, the horns of the Pennsylvanian giants were reported to begin above the eye sockets.

The find was made by a reputable group of antiquarians, including the Pennsylvania state historian Dr. G.P Donehoo, a Presbyterian Church official and two professors; A.B. Skinner, of the American Investigating Museum, and W. K. Morehead, of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. After the discovery which was made in the town of Sayre, Bradford County, Pennsylvania the remains were sent to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, where Skinner was based. The Museum later claimed that the remains had been stolen, and they were never recovered

Is it simply coincidence that horned giants, which could easily be likened to the mythological Satyr or Pan, were discovered in a town called Sayre? Without the remains, there is little to go on except the testimony of witnesses, legends and mythology. Horned creatures have been associated with ‘Gods’ across the world, from Norse mythology to esoteric philosophy. Baphomet, for example, was worshipped by the Knights Templar; and the Vikings wore symbolic horns on their helmets. Giants, in the form of alien-human hybrids known as the Nephilim, also form an important element of the Old Testament. It’s certainly interesting to ponder a possible connection between aliens, mythological gods, and these horned giants.

Evidence of Genetic Engineering

Researcher Robert Connolly photographed this strange elongated skull, which is estimated to be tens of thousands of years old, in South America in 1995. According to anthropologists, what makes this skull so amazing – besides its unusual shape - is that it exhibits characteristics of both Neanderthals and humans. Its jaw for example is very heavy and its brow pronounced, both typical Neanderthal characteristics. Further analysis of this skull could shed light on another possible aspect of man's evolution by providing evidence of the mating of two species of early humans. Anthropologists state that this suggestion is impossible, since Neanderthals didn't exist in South America. If they're right about that, then this Homo sapien – Neanderthal skull is all the more interesting simply because it exists when, according to experts, it shouldn’t.

In the absence of a scientific explanation that accounts for this skull's existence, some researchers have quite understandably begun to wonder if this apparently hybrid skull might also be evidence of genetic engineering. To them, the evidence suggests that extraterrestrial visitors may have deliberately cross-breed different species of human in an ongoing series of experiments to develop mankind. The idea that mankind was created or genetically engineered, and that Homo sapiens is simply the latest model in a long line of genetic experiments conducted by extraterrestrials gains momentum every day. We don’t yet know if this skull supports the theory or not, but we do know that anthropologists don't have an explanation of why this skull exists.

Cultural Traditions

The anomalous shape of many skulls are attributed to ancient practices such as cranial binding - the deliberate reshaping of the skull - and many researchers also attribute the appearance of this particular skull to this ancient custom. Cranial binding is begun when a child is very young, usually an infant, and carried on through adulthood. The skull is wrapped with rope or cloth, either by itself or against a wooden board, which results in the misshaping, flattening or elongation of the skull. The elongated effect created by binding is thought to represent a physiological demonstration of social status. Skull binding was practiced in many South American and African cultures and is thought to be the first example of deliberate body modification. Skull binding dates back at least 9,000 years, although some specimens suggest the custom has existed for at least 20,000 years.

Re-evaluating the facts

The problem with the skull binding theory in relation to this particular skull is that although the skull is elongated with a sloping back and flattened forehead, as one would expect to find in a boarded skull, experts state that this example has greater cubic capacity than a bound skull should have. Binding can change the shape but not the overall volume of a skull. Another problem with this theory is that the huge, heavy jaw is much bigger than the jaws of Peruvian natives who practiced skull binding. And the protruding brow, as we said, is a feature that's decidedly Neanderthal in nature. According to anthropologists, no evidence of Neanderthals practicing head binding has ever been found. So if the skull does prove to be that of a Homo sapien - Neanderthal hybrid, this would further rule out binding as a possible explanation.

We can only conclude that while at first glance the skull appears to be a great example of a bound skull, closer examination of its jaw size, capacity and overall Neanderthal characteristics has caused many researchers to re-evaluate their initial impressions. Judging by its unique physical characteristics, what we have here could easily be a hybrid skull - part human, part Neanderthal, and quite possibly, part something else. To suggest that the skull is a candidate for being an example of genetic engineering doesn’t seem outrageous under the circumstances.

In Gods Image

Some people have speculated that ancient cultures practiced the art of skull binding to emulate their gods; to make themselves appear as their ‘gods’ appeared to them. It's difficult to imagine what else could have prompted this widespread cultural need for ancient people to spend decades in pain to deform their skulls other than the possibility that they wanted to look like beings that they considered more perfect than themselves.

The Skulls of Egypt
Ancient Egypt is another land where unusual shaped skulls have been unearthed. Akhenaton, his wife, Nefertiti, and their children were all portrayed as being unusually tall and having very elongated skulls. Egyptologists suggest that this is a result of the stylised way that the pharaohs, as living gods, were portrayed, but not everyone agrees with that assumption.

Egyptologists were left uncomfortably silent when a forensic reconstruction of Tutankhamen’s head demonstrated that statues and artwork of the boy king that showed his skull to be elongated were actually a fairly accurate representation of him. Tutankhamen’s skull is nowhere near as elongated as Akhenaton and Nefertiti’s heads appear to be, but as their remains have never been located we can’t know for sure whether it was a stylised representation of the royal family, a result of skull binding or yet another anomaly that conventional understanding cannot account for.

Egypt is often classified as a stair step civilisation, in that it developed from a relatively unstructured rural society to a wealthy, governed society, capable of amazing feats of engineering and of developing the written word, in an unfeasibly short period of time. This development, coupled with the fact that some of Egypt’s pharaohs – considered by their people to be living gods - possessed these strange elongated skulls, is cited by some as evidence that extraterrestrials may have also influenced the cultural development of ancient Egypt. There's much in the construction of ancient Egypt’s civilization to suggest such a surprising conclusion. Judy Kay Kings' research, for example, has demonstrated how the mythology and iconography of the era demonstrates a complex understanding of molecular biology, an understanding that simply should not have existed at the time.

The Truth Is Out There

In all honestly no one knows for sure where the truth lies with regards to any of the anomalous skulls we’ve mentioned in this article. And there are many others we haven’t considered yet. All we know is that there are many unanswered questions which contribute to the mystery of mankind’s origins. Having looked at three different genres of skull, the hybrid child, the horned skull and finally the elongated skulls, all we can say for sure is that these skulls sit outside of our established paradigms. Science is renowned for demanding evidence to substantiate claims. However, when anomalous evidence presents itself, all too often, science appears to be reluctant to fully investigate that which might conceivably force it to re-evaluate its paradigms. Rather than following the evidence regardless of where it leads, it seems that mainstream scientists frequently opt for the ‘wall of silence’ approach, in hopes of preserving the status quo. In many ways the truth is already here,
indelibly recorded in artefacts that we possess but don’t yet fully understand. Whether that truth will be suppressed or ignored indefinitely, or will one day be revealed to the world, remains to be seen.

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Dana Johns