1. Skull that is shaped like a Monkey
The Mayans had their own set of sports and one of the most deadly of them was a game in which the participants had to pass a ball to one another only by using their elbows, hips and knees. The reason why this game was so deadly was because whichever team lost the game could then be used as a sacrifice.
There was a myriad of ways in which players could get injured when playing this game, so they wore special types of clothing which also allowed them to move in certain ways that were conducive to doing well at the game. These pieces of clothing included the likes of wearing a hand guard that was secured around the wrist area. Archaeologists even found a skull that was shaped like a monkey that they believe was one of these handguards that were used during the game.
It was their belief that even when they died, they could still play this game. In order to give them preparation of playing this sport in the afterlife, there were stone versions created of the clothing which they would wear when playing this game in real-life. These were often found inside the Mayan tombs.
These skulls were actually made of limestone and were specifically shaped in a way that was similar to the head of a monkey. It is of a size that it can be easily held in the palm of your hand and it has been in laid with eight white teeth, which were made from shell and in the middle there is a black tooth which was created out of iron pyrite. The mouth is opened wide and it is thought that there would have been shells laid in the eyes originally. Limestone was often used as a material for art by the Mayans and monkeys were often represented in their art, with some of their gods even being depicted in monkey form.
There have been many rmours of similar crystal based skulls over the years, but these have widely been believed to be fake. It is believed that the skull pictured would have been placed inside of a tomb between 250 and 600 AD, a period in which the Mayans were growing rapidly. This particular skull is believed to be more of a symbolic representation of the hand guard that was worn during their games.