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New Indiana Jones movie embraces legend of Mayan crystal skulls

There is a legend that the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power of saving the Earth — a tale so strange and fantastic that it inspired the latest Indiana Jones movie.

Experts dismiss the hundreds of existing crystal skulls as fakes that were probably made by colorful antiquities traders in the 19th century. But Mayan priests worship the skulls, even today, and real-life skull hunters still search for them.

The true story of the skulls stretches over continents and hundreds of years, and may be even more extraordinary than the tale portrayed in this fourth installment of the Harrison Ford franchise.

It's unclear what version of the tale will appear in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls," which opens in U.S. theaters on May 22.

The plot of the film — the first Indiana Jones movie since "The Last Crusade" came out in 1989 — revolves around a race against the Soviets to find the skulls.
Read entire article at AP