Anthropologist Finds Real Human Skull While Shopping At US Antique Store  

During Halloween, it’s common to find decorative skulls and bones which are typically made in factories. However, a real human skull was on sale at an antique store in Florida, United States. The discovery happened when a shopper, who also happened to be an anthropologist, made the spine chilling discovery.

After the customer discovered the 75-year-old real human skull in the Halloween section of the shop, the authorities were informed immediately. Soon after receiving the complaint, Police officials from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) visited the thrift shop and took the human skull for further investigation. The store’s owner explained that they had purchased the skull from a storage unit years ago.

The skull was found at Paradise Vintage Market on North Cleveland Avenue in North Fort Myers, Florida, Newsweek reported quoting LCSO Captain Anita Iriarte.

The details about the case were also shared by LCSO on Facebook.

“Detectives responded to the store on North Cleveland Avenue and recovered the skull. Based upon the observations of detectives on scene, the skull is believed to be that of a human. The store owner said the skull was located in a storage unit that was purchased years ago. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will work in conjunction with the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office to facilitate further testing of the skull. This case is not suspicious in nature,” read the post on the official page of Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Initial observations by the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the skull is indeed human remains. However, further testing will be conducted at the medical examiner’s office, followed by long term testing in Gainesville. These tests will determine the skull’s origin, age and any additional details that could shed light on the mystery behind how it reached the thrift store.

As per Newsweek, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Captain Anita Iriarte told, “What’s preliminarily been decided is it’s like an archaeological bone. The skull is estimated to be about 75 years old. There’s no noted trauma to the skull. There’s nothing that leads them to believe that this skull has been preserved by suspicious means of any sort.”

Meanwhile, Beth Meyer, the managing partner of Paradise Vintage Market, explained that the anthropologist who came across the skull, believed the skull belonged to Native American tribe. She noted that while it is legal to possess human skeletal remains in most US states, there are restrictions regarding Native American remains. During the testing, if it is confirmed to be Native American, they plan to return it to one of the local tribes.

Beth Meyer explained that the skull was among the items from a storage unit she had purchased shortly before Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September 2022. These items remained in boxes in her spare bedroom until she was able to reopen her store. She stated that she had no knowledge of how the skull ended up in the storage.