The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Twenty years have passed since Indiana Jones encountered the Holy Grail. In 1957, during the Cold War, he becomes the target of Russian agent Spalko and her henchmen during a new adventurous mission. Indy receives support from his former flame Marion Ravenwood and the rebellious young Mutt, who might be his illegitimate son. Indiana Jones is taken to Roswell in 1947, where Russian agents led by Irina Spalko force him to locate a crystal skull. Indy manages to escape. He teams up with the young Mutt, a student of Indy's missing mentor, and travels with him first to Peru and then to the Amazon jungle to solve the mystery of the crystal skulls. Along the way, there are further encounters with Spalko and her team, a surprising reunion, and finally a close encounter of the third kind.

Operation Plumbbob

One of the most memorable scenes from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is when Indiana Jones is trapped at an atomic test site called "Doom Town." Indy quickly searches the mock village for shelter before the atomic test begins and eventually jumps into a lead-lined refrigerator, remarkably saving himself from the intense radiation of the explosion. Operation Plumbbob was the 14th series of U.S. nuclear tests, conducted between April 24 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site. It was the largest and longest series of nuclear tests within the United States. A total of 30 bombs were tested, six of which were safety tests, and two did not result in nuclear fission. The main goal of Plumbbob was to test warheads for intercontinental and medium-range missiles. Additionally, warheads with low yield, suitable for use against submarines and aircraft, were tested. This series also included the first and only test of a nuclear air-to-air missile. The AIR-2 Genie was launched from a Northrop F-89J Scorpion at an altitude of 5,640 meters. During another 43 tests, the effects of a nuclear attack on civilian and military targets were studied. As part of these experiments, studies were conducted on radiation and its effects on living beings. A total of 1,200 pigs were observed throughout the operation. During the Priscilla test, 719 pigs were used in various experiments, for example, to develop protective vests against a thermonuclear explosion. Approximately 18,000 soldiers from the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps participated in combat exercises during Plumbbob. The military aimed to investigate how soldiers would cope with a nuclear war. During these exercises, the soldiers were exposed to extremely high doses of radiation. In 1980, a survey of soldiers who participated in the Smoky test revealed significantly increased rates of leukemia. Additionally, experiments were conducted to verify the safety measures of nuclear weapons. As a result of these tests, improved safety systems were developed to protect nuclear weapons from accidental detonation, for example, due to a plane crash.

The Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines, often spelled Nasca Lines, are over 1,500 giant geoglyphs in the desert near Nazca and Palpa in Peru. The lines, desert, and culture are named after the nearby town of Nazca. The creators of the lines are believed to be the Paracas culture and the Nazca culture. The Nazca Plain features straight lines up to 20 km long, triangles, trapezoidal areas, and figures ranging from about ten to several hundred meters in size, such as images of humans, monkeys, birds, and whales. Often, the figure-forming lines are only a few centimeters deep. Due to their enormous size, they can only be recognized from a great distance, from the surrounding hills or from airplanes. A systematic exploration and measurement, along with archaeological excavations between 2004 and 2009 in the surrounding area and partly in the lines, have likely clarified their origin and purpose: They are believed to be designs created as part of fertility rituals, which were laid out between 800 and 600 BC and prompted by periodic climate fluctuations. Modern archaeology believes that the Nazca Lines served as activity areas for rituals related to water and fertility.

Francisco de Orellana, the man with the golden mask

Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish conquistador who was the first European to navigate the Amazon River from west to east. Orellana probably came to the New World in 1527. When Francisco Pizarro set out to conquer Peru, he joined him in battle. During the storming of Cuzco in 1533, Orellana lost an eye. After the conquest of the Inca Empire, Orellana settled in Portoviejo in present-day Ecuador. During the civil war between Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, he fought on Pizarro's side. In 1541, Orellana agreed to participate in an expedition beyond the Andes with Francisco Pizarro's younger brother Gonzalo. The Gonzalo-Pizarro expedition aimed to find cinnamon trees and the legendary land of gold, El Dorado. A total of 350 Spaniards and 4,000 indigenous people set out from Quito. After the dangerous descent into the Amazon lowlands and months of searching and wandering in the jungle, they reached a large river that was impossible to cross without a ship. Thus, a base camp was established, and with the help of local indigenous people, a ship was built. It was christened "Victoria" by Father Carvajal. After the army was transported across the river in several trips, the search for El Dorado continued. But now the equipment could be transported by ship. It was the rainy season, and it didn't take long for every other man to fall ill. Pizarro himself was weakened by malaria, leaving him no choice but to send Orellana down the river with the Victoria, 57 of his best men, and a large part of the equipment as barter goods. They were to procure food and a second ship for the remaining army. Orellana's return was to mark the continuation of their journey by water. On December 25, 1541, the expedition began. The Spaniards traveled about 1,000 kilometers downstream but found nothing edible. The crew was close to starvation without being able to bring supplies to the men left behind. However, when hope was almost lost, they finally reached the Curaray, a forest river that flows southeast into the Napo. With the help of the local indigenous people, the Cotos, a second ship was built. It was named "San Pedro." It was still the rainy season, and rowing back against the current on the increasingly swollen river would have been too arduous and dangerous. They decided to continue downstream. Disappointed with Orellana, Pizarro eventually abandoned the base camp and began the return march. With less than 80 survivors, Pizarro reached Quito half a year later. Orellana's dangerous journey on the vast Amazon and its tributaries was accompanied by constant indigenous attacks. On June 24, 1542, an unusual encounter occurred, which the traveling Dominican friar Fray Gaspar de Carvajal described in his diary: "As we drew closer to the shore, the Indians began shooting arrows at us, and since there were many warriors, it seemed as if it was raining arrows. But our arquebusiers and crossbowmen were not idle either. Although they killed many, the Indians did not seem to notice, for despite the damage inflicted on them, they continued tirelessly. I want people to know why these Indians defended themselves in such a manner. It must be explained that they are tributary subjects of the Amazons. When they learned of our coming, the Indians requested help from them, and about ten to twelve of these women came, for we ourselves saw these women who fought as female captains at the forefront of all the Indians. The women are very fair-skinned and tall, with long hair they wear braided and wrapped around their heads. They are very strong and go completely naked." Orellana thus also supported the ancient myth of the Amazons and fueled the imagination of European adventurers. This is why the river later received its current name, the Amazon. Finally, on August 26, 1542, Francisco de Orellana reached the vast Amazon Delta. He had lost only a dozen of his companions to indigenous attacks. But the odyssey was not over yet, as the nearest Spanish port was in Trinidad. For months, he struggled along the coast with his two barely seaworthy ships. The ships lost sight of each other but eventually both reached Trinidad. A trial brought by Pizarro against Orellana fizzled out. Crown Prince Philip acquitted Orellana, and the authorities declared Orellana the owner of vast lands along the Amazon. To gather evidence for his reports, Orellana equipped a second expedition. After long negotiations, he was finally given four ships, but they were so decrepit that one was separated from the fleet in a severe storm and never reappeared. The other three reached the Amazon estuary and landed on a large island, where the small riverboats they had brought with them were assembled. Orellana then set out with a large advance party to Manaus, where he wanted to establish a permanent settlement. The remaining crew was to build additional riverboats and wait for news. But no news came even after a quarter of a year. The crew mutinied against the plan and left Orellana and his advance party behind. None of that group ever returned.

The Crystal Skull

In his fourth adventure, Dr. Jones examines an artifact that has fascinated many experts since its first appearance: the Crystal Skull. But who created it? According to a Mayan legend, there are 13 skulls: one main skull and 12 secondary ones. When they are all reunited, a new era will begin. As of today, 8 skulls are known that would fit the legend of the 13 skulls. 3 are located in well-known museums: one in the British Museum in London, one in the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, and another in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The remaining 5 are privately owned.

But let's analyze the facts. The crystal skulls appeared in the public eye in the second half of the 19th century, but in the 1960s, they attracted media attention thanks to what we might consider the father of all skulls: The Skull of Doom. The Skull of Doom is also known as the Mitchell-Hedges skull, named after its alleged discoverer.

In his book "Danger My Ally," Hedges claims that he found the skull during an expedition in Central America in 1930.

After Hedges' death in 1959, the skull went to his adopted daughter Anna, who added further details. She claimed that she participated in her father's expedition and that the skull was accidentally found in 1927 among the Mayan ruins of Lubaantum (now called Belize). This fascinating story turned out to be false. In fact, a 1943 catalog showed that Hedges purchased the skull at a London auction for around 400 pounds. Another factor that contributed to the charm and popularity of the crystal skull is the legend of its supernatural powers. Anna Mitchell-Hedges, who owned it until her death in 2007, said that the skull possessed strong positive energy. However, it was also said to be capable of bringing misfortune and illness to non-believers. Other reports speak of lights, mysterious sounds, and the ability to move on its own. Of course, none of these phenomena have ever been documented.

Another open question is how the crystal skull was made and, more importantly, when. For a long time, the crystal skulls were attributed to the pre-Columbian period. The Mayas could work the stones with other stones, wood, and copper tools. They used abrasive sand for smoothing. However, these techniques would not have allowed the creation of such valuable artifacts as the crystal skulls.

Both the museum skulls and the Mitchell-Hedges skull have been subjected to careful electron microscopy in recent years. Evidence of more modern processing with rotary tools has been identified. This has led to a redating of the skulls' origins. It is most likely that they were made between the late 19th century and the early 20th century in Germany, where the production of fake pre-Columbian artifacts was very popular. Interestingly, both the skull in London and the one in Paris come from the French antiquarian Eugène Boban, who specialized in this type of trade. It is quite possible that he was always the source of the Mitchell-Hedges skull, which seems to be an improved version of the one in London.

But why is the crystal skull in the Indiana Jones film different from the human skull? The film's reference is based on the Paracas skulls, which are kept in the Regional Archaeological Museum of Ica in Peru. As Indiana Jones explains in the film, the elongation of the skull, known in medicine as "dolichocephaly," can be artificially induced in infants using bandages. Some claim, although there is no real scientific evidence, that the Paracas skulls have a larger volume than that of a human and even possess mutated DNA. Are these alien remains? Do these skulls really come from outer space, or are they just wild speculations? This question has occupied experts for years, and it will certainly take more time before the truth comes to light.

Mind control

With the film's timeline set in the 1950s, the Soviet Union was the natural antagonist, represented by Dr. Irina Spalko. It is revealed that the Soviets are experimenting with the possibility of mind control and are seeking the crystal skull to aid them in this mission. Similar to the Nazis and their quest for powerful religious relics, the Soviets plan to use the mind-controlling power of the skull to destroy America and conquer the world. MKULTRA (also MK ULTRA, pronounced M-K-Ultra) was a large-scale secret CIA research program on methods of mind control. It ran from 1953 into the 1970s in the context of the Cold War. The project's goal was to develop a perfect truth serum for use in interrogations of Soviet spies and to explore the possibilities of mind control. In part, the work also overlapped with research from other U.S. programs on biological weapons. The program included thousands of human experiments, where unsuspecting test subjects, often arbitrarily selected from hospital patients and prison inmates, were given potent hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and mescaline without their knowledge. Numerous test subjects suffered severe physical and psychological damage, sometimes leading to death. Many of the project's experiments violated U.S. laws. In hindsight, the CIA considered most experiments worthless, as they were often conducted by staff with no scientific qualifications. In the mid-1970s, several U.S. Congressional investigative committees began to examine the program. This was part of a broader effort to investigate illegal activities by various U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI, both domestically and abroad. A notable investigation committee was the so-called Church Committee. The investigation was significantly hindered by the illegal systematic destruction of almost all internal CIA files on MKULTRA, ordered by CIA Director Richard Helms in 1973. Therefore, the investigation relied on the few remaining files and the testimony of CIA employees before the committees.

Akator

Akator, or better known as El Dorado (Spanish for "The Golden One"), is a legendary land of gold in the interior of northern South America. Originally, the name "El Dorado" referred to a man, later a city, and then an entire land. Other (indigenous) names for this mythological place include Manoa and Omoa. El Dorado is based on a Colombian legend that sparked the adventurous spirit of the 16th-century conquistadors, leading to numerous expeditions into the unexplored central South America. Spanish chroniclers have reported on the supposed land of gold since the 17th century. Each new ruler of the Muisca (a Chibcha people) offered a sacrifice to the sun god in the mountain lake of Guatavita near present-day Bogotá upon taking office. At night, bonfires were lit, and the naked body of the prince was covered with a paste of gold dust. Together with four nobles, the prince would travel on a raft to the middle of the lake. The raft was loaded with various gold objects and gemstones. The companions would offer these items by throwing them into the water. Afterwards, the king would jump into the lake, and the gold dust on his body, along with emeralds and gold thrown into the lake by the accompanying nobles, would sink to the bottom. Another version has the king washing off the gold at the edge of the lake after the ceremony. The golden raft of El Dorado is considered evidence for the legend. By the time the Spaniards arrived, the Muisca ritual had long ceased, but the tales of the captured Muisca fueled the conquistadors' greed for the supposedly enormous treasure. Particularly the writings of Rodriguez Freyle, who relied on accounts from Don Juan, the nephew of the last ruler of the Guatavita region, contributed to the development of the legend of the fabled land of gold, El Dorado. Thus, the search for El Dorado was even one of the main driving forces behind the exploration and conquest of South America by the Spaniards. In reality, however, this legend originated in 1541 in Quito, several years after the Muisca had been defeated by the Spanish adventurer Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.