Starchild skull, the In 1999 an oddly shaped skull was displayed at conferences attended by ufologists as proof that alien-human hybrids— that is, children that are crosses between extraterrestrials and humans—really exist. Dubbed the Starchild skull, it has a huge brain cavity, no front sinus cavities, and large but shallow eye sockets—all features that would be consistent with alien abductees’ descriptions of alien-human hybrids. Moreover, indigenous people living in the place where the skull was discovered, in the mountains of northern Mexico, have legends involving “Star People” who visit Earth and mate with women who then give birth to hybrid babies. Scientists who have examined the Starchild skull, however, say that it is the skull not of a hybrid but of a human being whose skull was malformed because of one of two causes: either a condition called hydrocephaly, which causes the brain to swell with fluid and distort the skull, or cradle boarding, which was a practice among some indigenous peoples (including the one prevalent where the skull was found). Because cradle boarding involves tightly strapping a baby to a board for long periods of time, the baby’s skull often becomes flattened at the back.

SEE ALSO:

• alien abduction experiences;
• descriptions of aliens

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning