Eugène Boban began life in humble circumstances in Paris, traveled to the California Gold Rush, and later became a recognized authority on pre-Columbian cultures.  He also invented an entire category of archaeological artifact: the Aztec crystal skull. By his own admission, he successfully palmed off a number of these crystal skulls on the curators of Europes leading museums. How could that happen, and who was this man? Detailed are the travels, self-education, and archaeological explorations of Eugène Boban; this book also explores the circumstances that allowed him to sell fakes to museums that would remain undetected for over a century.

Jane MacLaren Walsh, anthropologist emerita at the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History, is an internationally recognized authority on crystal skulls and other fake pre-Columbian antiquities. Her most recent research combines geology and archaeology in a study of the iconic stone faces of Teotihuacan.

List of illustrations Acknowledgments Authors' Note List of Abbreviations

Introduction: On the Trail of Crystal Skulls

Chapter 1. Caveat EmptorChapter 2. Between Old World and NewChapter 3. Mexico: Ancient to ModernChapter 4. Mexico at Mid-CenturyChapter 5. The Emperors Antiquarian: A Collection Takes ShapeChapter 6. Confronting a Different ParisChapter 7. Marketing a CollectionChapter 8. A Premier CollectionChapter 9. Narratives of ProvenanceChapter 10. The Rue du Sommerard DecadeChapter 11. Of Fakes and FakersChapter 12. From Student to Teacher: Dealer to CuratorChapter 13. Good Deals and BadChapter 14. Back in BusinessChapter 15. Fingerprints on Crystal SkullsChapter 16. Courting the SmithsonianChapter 17. Of Fakes, Forgers and FraudsChapter 18. El Tocayos TriumphChapter 19. Later LifeChapter 20. Afterlife

Epilogue

References Index