Skulls are an interesting part of the skeleton, because they give us an idea of what the face of its owner was like. To those who study them, skulls can also give a wealth of information about diet, lifestyle, health, age, and even brain size. Throughout history, many strange skulls have been discovered which seem to go against all previous knowledge. Sometimes such skulls lead to better understanding in various fields, but unfortunately there have always been those who enjoy fabricating unusual skulls for attention and profit. These skulls fall down in the face of proper testing, yet they persist until the fraud is discovered and can be of great interest. This is a list of hoax skulls, mistaken skulls, and unusual or misleading practices pertaining to skulls.

Starchild skull

This skull was apparently found in Mexico around 1930 but only showed to the public by Lord Pye in 1999. It was claimed to either be the skull of an alien infant or an alien-human hybrid. Although the damaged lower skull was child-like, the upper cranium was huge, being 1600mL, over 400mL larger than would be expected based on the lower skull. Pye claimed that radiocarbon dating had proved it was 900 years old and that anonymous scientists had confirmed it to be the skull of an alien. However, independent DNA testing revealed the skull to be Native American, belonging to a child who probably had hydrocephalus, or ‘water-in-the-brain’, a congenital disorder where there is too much fluid in the skull. Sufferers of this condition can develop abnormally large craniums, although modern medicine can now relieve the fluid pressure with cerebral shunts to drain the excess liquid.

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