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The Starchild skull is an abnormal human skull allegedly found in Mexico. It is primarily notable due to claims by paranormal researchers that it is the product of extraterrestrial-human breeding. DNA recovered from the skull establishes it has haveing at least one 100% human parent. Although Trace Genetics did recover human mitochondrial DNA (DNA passed through the mother) from the Starchild Skull in 2003, it is possible to have the mitochondrial DNA of one species and the nuclear DNA (passed down through both parents) of another species (Perdy, 2003). However, human mitochondrial DNA alone does not establish the skull belongs entirely to a human species (Meadows, 2010). Examples of this phenomenon include the zebra/donkey hybrid “Zedonk” (BBC, 2010), the lion/tiger hybrid “Liger” (CBS, 2010), and the horse/donkey hybrid “Mule” (Perdy, 2003). In 2003, Trace Genetics determined that nuclear DNA was impossible to recover using techniques developed up to that point in time. Therefore, it was impossible for them at the time to establish if the Starchild Skull was entirely human or not.

Discovery

The starchild skull came into the possession of Ray and Melanie Young of El Paso, Texas, who entrusted it to Lloyd Pye in February 1999. Pye is a writer and lecturer in what he describes as the field of alternative knowledge. According to Pye, the skull was found around 1930 in a mine tunnel about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Chihuahua, Mexico, buried alongside a normal human skeleton that was exposed and lying supine on the surface of the tunnel.

Analysis

The skull is abnormal in several respects. A dentist determined, based on examination of the upper right maxilla found with the skull, that it was a child's skull, 4.5 to 5 years in age. Several dentists have stated they believe the Starchild Skull to be a child in this age range (Robinson, 2004; Dr. David Sweet as cited in Pye, L. 2007, p. 148). However, other specialists unwilling to be named (Pye, L. 2007) felt that extensive wear on the crowns of the teeth (p. 126) and the extensive size of the roots indicate the skull belonged to an adult (p. 156). Further, the volume of the interior of the starchild skull is 1,600 cubic centimeters, which is 200 cm³ larger than the average adult's brain, and 400 cm³ larger than an adult of the same approximate size. The orbits are oval and shallow, with the optic nerve canal situated closer to the bottom of the orbit than to the back. There are no frontal sinuses. The back of the skull is flattened with the flattening of the rear of the skull appearing natural, and not the result of artificial deformation, such as cradle-boarding (Robinson, 2004), nor of deformity such as premature suture fusion (Dr. D. Hodges as cited in Robinson, 2004). The skull consists of calcium hydroxyapatite, the normal material of mammalian bone. More sophisticated analyses done later in 2004 by Dr. Ken Pye (no relation to Lloyd Pye) indicated that the bone of the Starchild Skull has abnormally high levels of collagen, the substance that gives tooth enamel its hardness and durability (Pye, K. as cited in Pye, L. 2007).

Dating

Carbon 14 dating was performed twice, the first on the normal human skull at the University of California at Riverside in 1999, and on the Starchild skull in 2004 at Beta Analytic in Miami, the largest radiocarbon dating laboratory in the world. Both tests provided results of 900 years ± 40 years since death.

DNA testing

DNA testing in 1999 at BOLD, a forensic DNA lab in Vancouver, British Columbia found standard X and Y chromosomes in two samples taken from the skull, "conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but both of his parents must have been human as well, for each must have contributed one of the human sex chromosomes". In 1999 the BOLD lab was a forensic teaching lab where students performed the majority of the work being done in it. The lab was not equipped in the many special ways necessary for handling samples more than 50 years old (the Starchild Skull is 900 years old). After the lab’s student technicians contaminated its first two attempts (Pye, L. pp. 153-162), they claimed to recover nuclear DNA from a “Y” chromosome (not the “X”). However, this was only 200 picograms of material, 1/5th of the minimum amount of genetic material normally required for a valid result. This small and dubious recovery was shown to be another contamination in 2003 by Trace Genetics, a DNA lab capable of recovering ancient DNA (over 50 years old), and whose founders (Dr. Jason Eshleman and Dr. Ripan Mahli) had previously worked on the high-profile Kennewick Man skeleton (Eshleman & Mahli, 2003). Dr. Mahli and Dr. Eschleman (2003) state:

“he inability to analyze nuclear DNA indicates that such DNA is either not present or present in sufficiently low copy number to prevent PCR analysis using methods available at the present time.”

Further DNA testing at Trace Genetics, which specializes in extracting DNA from ancient samples, in 2003 recovered mitochondrial DNA from both skulls. The child belongs to haplogroup C. Since mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, it makes it possible to trace the offspring's maternal lineage. The DNA test therefore confirmed that the child's mother was a Haplogroup C human female. The adult female belongs to haplogroup A. Both haplotypes are characteristic Native American haplogroups, but the different haplogroup for each skull indicates that the adult female was not the child's mother. Trace Genetics obtained nuclear DNA, which contains chromosomes from both the father and the mother, from the adult female, but was not able to recover useful lengths of nuclear DNA or Y-chromosomal DNA of the father from the Starchild skull, despite conducting six consecutive tests. Trace Genetics was easily able to recover both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA on the first attempt from the adult human female skull reportedly found with the Starchild Skull (Eshleman & Malhi, 2003). That skull had the same general time of death as the Starchild Skull (Pye, L. 2007, p. 212), and was exposed to similar conditions post mortem (Pye, L. 2007, p. 21). Therefore, the Trace Genetics team expected the Starchild’s nuclear DNA to be similarly easy to recover, and indeed the Mitochondrial DNA did recover easily. However, in 6 full attempts no nuclear DNA could be recovered from the Starchild Skull (Pye, L. 2007, pp. 177-183). The founders of Trace Genetics argued that "he inability to analyze nuclear DNA indicates that such DNA is either not present or present in sufficiently low copy number to prevent PCR analysis using methods available at the present time."

Explanations

Potential explanations for the skull's unusual features, apart from the alien-hybrid hypothesis, include the use of cradle boarding on a hydrocephalic child, brachycephaly and Crouzon syndrome. All of these deformities and many others have been investigated as possible explanations for the Starchild Skull, and none of them match the attributes of the skull (The Starchild Project, 2010b). Cradleboarding and all other artificial deformation techniques leave evidence on the surface of the skull bone, and no such evidence is present on the surface of the Starchild Skull. Thus, Dr. Robinson (2004) concluded that “the extreme flattening of the skull was caused by its natural growth pattern and is not artificial.” Hydrocephaly (also called “congenital hydrocephalus”) is a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid in the cranium causes internal pressure that pushes outward against the skull, expanding any unfused sutures to give the skull an "inflated" shape (MedicineNet, 2010). According to Dr. Bachynsky and Dr. Robinson (cited in Robinson, 2004) the sutures in the Starchild Skull were unfused and healthy at the time of death, with no expansion present at the suture lines. Thus, the Starchild’s unusual shape could not have been caused by internal pressure or the sutures would be expanded. Dr. Bachynsky specifically ruled out hydrocephaly in his examination of the skull (Robinson, 2004). Brachycephaly simply means a skull that is abnormally wide, and is a possible symptom of multiple illnesses, deformities, and disorders. Therefore, it isn’t any kind of explanation for morphology; it is only an observation of a physical trait (Kelly, 2010). Crouzon Syndrome is a condition where symptoms include the complete premature fusion (obliteration) of two or more cranial sutures (Matusiak & Szybejko-Machaj, 2010). In 2003 Dr. Bachynsky, a radiological expert, concluded unequivocally that there was no abnormal or premature fusion of any of the Starchild Skull’s sutures (as cited in Robinson, 2004). Therefore, Crouzon Syndrome is impossible as an explanation. Progeria (also called Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome) is a fatal condition that causes the appearance of premature aging in children (Progeria Research Foundation, 2010). In Progeria, bones can become thinner and weaker, and premature fusion of sutures can cause abnormal skull shape, which in turn gives the lower face and eyes an unusual appearance (Medline Plus, 2010). One of the primary symptoms of Progeria is open fontanelles on the top of the head, the “soft spot” on a baby’s head (UM Medical, 2010). This condition is not present in the Starchild Skull (Robinson, 2003). The Starchild Skull’s bone is thinner than normal, but instead of being more brittle, as is caused by Progeria, it is observed to be much stronger than normal human bone (Pye, L. 2007, p. 176). Progeria does not remove the inion, change the location of the optic foramens, change the shape of the hardest sections of bone while leaving the weak sutures untouched, or increase the collagen content of bone (UM Medical, 2010), all features of the Starchild Skull (Pye 2010b). The only symptom that Progeria has in common with the Starchild Skull is “micrognathia,” an abnormally small jaw (UM Medical, 2010), leaving all of the other unusual features of the Starchild unexplained, and making Progeria a thoroughly incorrect diagnosis.

References

1. Pye, Lloyd 'Starchild Project'
2. Pye, Lloyd. "TERRIBLE TWO'S : Summary of the first Two Years". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
3. ^ McCoy, Max (November 1999). "Star Child". Fortean Times (127): 42–45.
4. Brown, Matthew. "A Report on Maxilla and Dental X-Rays". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
5. Robinson, Ted J. "A Preliminary Analysis of a Highly Unusual Human-Like Skull". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
6. (Pye, L. 2007, pp. 206-7 and p. 218)
7. http://www.theness.com/index.php/the-starchild-project/
8. Eshleman & Malhi Trace Genetics "Report on the DNA analysis from skeletal remains from two skulls"
9. Phoenix, Jack (Early 2005 (special)). "Unconvention 2004". Fortean Times (191): 28–30. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. Chow, Adelina (2006). "The Mystery of the Starchild Skull". World-Mysteries.com. Retrieved 2006-10-01.

BBC (July 30, 2010). Rare Zedonk Born at US Wildlife Reserve. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10813703

Eshleman, J.A. & Malhi, R.S. (2003). Report On The DNA Analysis From Skeletal Remains From Two Skulls. Trace Genetics. Retrieved from http://www.starchildproject.com/dna.htm

Jimenez, N. (Aug. 17, 2010). Liger Cubs Illegally Bred? CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20013891-10391705.html

Kelly, K. (Jan. 30, 2010).What is Brachycephaly? Brachycephaly Info. Retrieved from http://www.brachycephaly.info/

Matusiak, L. & Szybejko-Machaj, G. (Aug. 13, 2010). Crouzon Syndrome. eMedicine. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1117749-overview

Meadows, R. (July 20, 2010). Genetic Mismatches Between Nuclei and Mitochondria Make Yeast Hybrids Sterile. PLoS Biology 8(7): e1000433. Retrieved from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000433

MedicineNet.com (Aug 2010). Hydrocephalus. MedicineNet.com. Retrieved from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/external+hydrocephalus

Medline Plus (Aug. 19, 2010) Progeria. Medline Plus. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001657.htm

Merriam-Webster Online. (2010). Paranormal. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paranormal

Novella, Steven (1999, re-dated 2006).The Starchild Project. The New England Skeptical Society. Retrieved from http://www.theness.com/the-starchild-project

Progeria Research Foundation (2010). About Progeria. Progeria Research Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.progeriaresearch.org/about_progeria.html

Purdy, S. (2003). A Donkey is Not a Horse: The Differences From a Practical Veterinary Standpoint. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/vasci/faculty/purdy/A%20Donkey%20is%20Not%20a%20Horse_files/frame.htm

Pye, K. (2005). Summary of Inorganic Chemistry Analysis of Starchild Bone. Printed as Appendix III The Starchild Skull, Lloyd Pye, Bell Lap Books, 2007.

Pye, L (2007). The Starchild Skull: Genetic Enigma or Human-Alien Hybrid?. Bell Lap Books.

Robinson, T. et al. (25 Sept. 2004). A Preliminary Analysis of a Highly Unusual Human-Like Skull. The Starchild Project. Retrieved from http://www.starchildproject.com/Reports_Robinson.html

The Starchild Project (Sept. 2010a). Preliminary DNA Findings 2010. The Starchild Project. Retrieved from http://www.starchildproject.com/DNA2010.htm

The Starchild Project (Sept. 2010b). Is The Starchild Skull A Deformity? The Starchild Project. Retrieved from http://www.starchildproject.com/deformity.htm

The Starchild Project (Sept. 2010b).Was The Starchild Skull Cradleboarded? The Starchild Project. Retrieved from http://www.starchildproject.com/cradleboarding.htm

UM Medical Center (2010) Progeria. University of Maryland Medical Center. Retrieved from http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001657sym.htm

• Extraterrestrial life
• UFO-related phenomena
• Skull
• Ancient astronaut speculation
• Pseudoarchaeology
• Human remains (archaeological)