✅ SOLVED Coral skull

[Lehuna]

Hand carved coral. My husband dug it up in Waiehu Maui a long time ago. Have no idea what this can be worth. Any ideas?

 

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[Tony in SC]

Wow!! I believe you have something special. First I would see what the local experts have to say. Then I would see what the larger auction houses have to say. I know there are people here that will have good Ideas.

 

[Older The Better]

I hope its hand carved not coral encrusted.

 

[huntsman53]

I hope its hand carved not coral encrusted.

Me as well but it has the appearance of a real skull that was in the ocean for some time and became Coral encrusted. If real, the person must have starved to death or was severely malnourished before they died thus the sunken jaws. Eeeerrrriiieee!

 

[Lehuna]

it was dug up in a really old area here in Maui. We don’t really have anyone here that can tell us anything. It is the size of an infant but has teeth and stitches on the face which is odd. Half the face is corroded from being under the earth for who knows how long. There was a tsunami in the 40’s which could have brought in up in the first place.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

If I were you, I would consider contacting a museum for assistance and clarification.

The Museum of Natural History in New York... https://www.amnh.org/
The Royal Ontario Museum... https://www.rom.on.ca/en
Florida Museum of Natural History... https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/

What you have there might be of historical or of scientific importance, the monetary value should be secondary if it is human.

Dave

 

[Plug N Play]

A common aquarium accoutrement.

 

[A2coins]

That is eeerie I doubt it would have much value but have an expert look at it ie medical examiner lol

 

[A2coins]

Welcome also from Mi. Tommy

 

[huntsman53]

it was dug up in a really old area here in Maui. We don’t really have anyone here that can tell us anything. It is the size of an infant but has teeth and stitches on the face which is odd. Half the face is corroded from being under the earth for who knows how long. There was a tsunami in the 40’s which could have brought in up in the first place.

The statement in bold is what makes me believe that it is a real human skull. The stitches as you call them are what is called sutures or in this case, cranial sutures. These are made up of connective tissue strips that hold the 8 cranial bones (yes eight) together. They develop while we are in our mother's womb and they continue to develop, grow and expand as we grow. The fact that the skull has these and teeth as well, makes me believe that it is a real skull. You may be right that the Tsunami in the 1940's may have brought the skull up from the depths of the ocean and deposited it in the location where your husband found it, where it became covered over by plant life growth and decay. However, it likely laid on the bottom (sea floor) of the ocean for possibly 10 to 30 years or more prior to that, becoming Coral encrusted. If you have no Universities or Museums that can give an analysis of what it is and whether it is a real skull or not, then the next step would be to contact Law Enforcement to have it taken to a Morgue to be analyzed. There may be a lot of questions but answer them as you have here, that it was found a long time ago and you really thought and still think that is is a carving from Coral. If real, your husband will likely have to take them to the location where it was found, so they can investigate as to whether there are more human remains there.

 

[Philvis]

The only reason I question it being a real skill is simply for the fact the mandible is in place. It possibly could have been in situ and the mandible fused to the skull, but that isnt too likely. Typically the skull would have to be sitting upright with the mandible receiving pressure from the main skull above it (hope that makes sense). Check the eye orbits to see if they are symmetrical with each other and have the same dimensions. Also check the nasal cavity area to see how symmetrical it is. I'd find a local college or university and have them look at it. With NAGPRA legislation, if it is deemed a skull and native, it will be illegal to possess. See if you have a forensic archaeologist you can check with. Me personally, I dont think I'd want a real skull in my house...ancient or modern! Haha! Good luck and keep us updated. Very interesting stuff!

 

[Lehuna]

The thing is it has a full set of teeth and is the size of a newborn. As far as I know newborns don’t have a full set of adult teeth. This is why it is so unusual. Did not want to throw this word out yet, but menuhune immediately came into my husbands head when he found it , we tried to get scott Walter to look at it and sent his son in law a a while back for a couple minutes , conclusion was coral encrusted lime stone decades old but not sure, Scott said he would need it to do further tests, my husband believes also there may be some historical significance as well but not sure, we want the right people to look at it who are experts, better safe than sorry. Onemore thing it was found by a taro patch in a area where it is ancient.

 

[Tony in SC]

I saw on Nat Geo a few years ago that there is evidence of a very small race of people that once existed. Maybe a medical examiner could get a catscan but I would not sign a release of any knid.

 

[Grizz12]

Didnt you guys watch the Brady Bunch? That thing is bad mojo, put it back where you found it

 

[cw0909]

i saw this yesterday, looked around some, not sure if it is a real skull.
if it is it is older than ww2, maybe the 200yr old anchor img is a better
indicator of coral age, on an object,as coral is slow growing. the 1st word
that came to mind was pygmy
this article list several orgs. you could contact
https://mauinow.com/2016/06/22/maui-groups-make-big-impression-at-coral-reef-symposium/

imgs and vids from a dive co. blog a ww2 site dive
img where they dived
https://dansdiveshop.ca/wp-content/...49004570037_1023186618121930477_n-768x508.jpg
blog
https://dansdiveshop.ca/tag/islands/
a 200yr old anchor
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0f/32/b6/88/200-year-old-anchor-in.jpg

 

[smokeythecat]

Will your dentist xray it for you? Odd thing.

 

[JMaynard]

Yey, my weird interests can be of help! Rest assured, this is not a real skull. There are several things to that point to this being manufactured. First is the mandible as has been pointed out. It is sill attached and there is no separation from the cranium and has an extremely odd shape, it should be should be much wider. I have personally come across human remains in the field and the mandible was not attached to the cranium due to advanced decomposition. Additionally the picture of the showing the bottom, the mandible is not a solid piece underneath, it is more of a U or V shape, press up underneath your own jaw in front of your throat and you will feel this. Also, the bottom of the skull is not flat, there are many curves, and this one lacks any. It also lacks the hole at the base where the spinal column connects to the brain. Next look at the eyes, the orbital sockets don't seem to have the holes normally present for the optic nerves, and appear to be solid at the sides. There should also be more curvature at the back of the skull, rather than flowing down as if neck muscle was there. The stitches on the cheekbones also give away that this is not real, as we don't stitch bone back together, only flesh. I've included photos of a real human skull from a private collection for comparison. Sorry if you don't like that sort of thing, and a quick warning, the cause of death for this individual is very evident. Also notice that the teeth are missing. This specimen was not recovered from the ocean and they are still missing. I would think currents and possible tsunami would have removed the mandible and any teeth. No I think the original assessment of this being carved, or possibly molded out of ceramic are much closer to the truth. As to value, well I wouldn't know unless it is hand carved, and old. In which case I would take it to someone knowledgeable about that type of artwork in your area.

 

[Lehuna]

Thank you everyone for the help, we are still trying to get someone , any expert to look at it, whoever has carved this was very good and this skull still got us scratching our head, where it was found opens up a ton of questions. Lol

 

[tamrock]

It's a good "what is it" pretty bizarre. My guess is possibly the skull of a witch

 

[ARC]

Now that's a find that just jumped to the top of the "weird finds list".

Hope that thing isn't real.