Skeleton Skull

Skeleton Skull

Rarity tier	Uncommon
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool	Any tool
Blast resistance	1
Hardness	1
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Waterloggable	JE: No BE: Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No

{
    "title": "Skeleton Skull",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Uncommon",
            "label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
        },
        {
            "field": "Any tool",
            "label": "Tool"
        },
        {
            "field": "1",
            "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
        },
        {
            "field": "1",
            "label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminous)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
        },
        {
            "field": "'''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE):''' No<br>'''(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE):''' Yes",
            "label": "(link to Waterlogging article, displayed as Waterloggable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Flammable article, displayed as Flammable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "Catches fire<br>from (link to lava article, displayed as lava)"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Skeleton Skull"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Skeleton Skull.png"
    ]
}

A skeleton skull is a block modeled after the head of a skeleton.

Obtaining

Breaking

A skeleton skull can be mined using any item,^[1] and drops itself when broken.

Block
Hardness	1
Breaking time (secs)
Default	1.5
Options
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

If a head is pushed by a piston or comes in contact with water or lava, it breaks off as an item.

When destroyed by an explosion, the skeleton skull always drops as an item.

Natural generation

Skeleton skulls can generate in ancient cities, which sometimes generate in the deep dark.

Mob loot

Skeleton heads are always dropped by a skeleton if it dies due to a charged creeper's explosion. In Bedrock Edition, if multiple mobs are killed by the same charged creeper, all of them drop their heads, however in Java Edition only one mob selected at random drops its head.^[2]

Usage

Decoration

A skeleton skull can be oriented in 16 different directions on top of a block, and 4 directions on the sides of blocks, similar to signs. They can be placed on top of, or beside each other by shift clicking.

Wearing

The player can wear skeleton skulls, similarly to pumpkins or helmets. This overlays the second layer of the player's skin.

Disguise

Wearing a skeleton skull reduces the detection range for skeletons. This is similar to (and stacks with) the reductions in detection range from sneaking and from the Invisibility status effect.

In Bedrock Edition, wearing a skeleton skull makes the player invisible to other players on a locator map.

Dispensers

A dispenser can equip a skeleton skull on a player, mob, or armor stand with an empty helmet slot, within the block the dispenser is facing.

Crafting ingredient

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Skeleton skull + Gunpowder + Any Dye

Enchantments

Skeleton skulls can receive the following enchantments, but only through an anvil.

Name	Max level	Method
Curse of Binding	I	Anvil
Curse of Vanishing	I	Anvil

Note blocks

Placing a skeleton skull above a note block causes the note block to play the skeleton's ambient sound when activated.

The block below the note block does not affect the mob sound it creates.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

v t e stone sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.stone.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.stone.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.stone.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.stone.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.stone.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

v t e stone sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.stone	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	dig.stone	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	0.37	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	0.3	1.0
	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	0.12	1.0
	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	0.22	1.0

Unique

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Item tags	Translation key
Skeleton Skull	skeleton_skull	Block & Item	skulls	block.minecraft.skeleton_skull
Skeleton Wall Skull	skeleton_wall_skull	Block	—	block.minecraft.skeleton_wall_skull

Name	Identifier
Block entity	skull

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Skeleton Skull	skeleton_skull	skull / 0	144	Block & Giveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	item.skull.skeleton.name

Name	Savegame ID
Block entity	Skull

Block states

Java Edition:
Floor

Wall

Bedrock Edition:

Block data

A skeleton skull has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Camouflage	Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.	—	30	Bronze

History

There is an associated page listing all historical changes related to the appearance and/or sounds associated with this block in further detail than below; see /Asset history.

Java Edition
August 28, 2012							Jeb released images of the skeleton head, hinting of more types to come.
PAX 2012							At PAX, Dinnerbone revealed that there would be rare drops of these mobs.[3]
1.4.2			12w36a				Added skeleton skulls, obtainable only from the Creative inventory.
			12w37a				Changed item textures.
1.4.6			12w49a				Skeleton skulls can now be used to craft a firework star with creeper-face effect.
1.8			14w29a				Heads now display a cracking animation.
			14w30a				Skeleton skulls in inventories and held by mobs/players now display as blocks.
							Skulls worn by mobs and players are now displayed on the armor layer. Previously, the skull replaced the mob/player's head texture; the hat layer appeared over the skull.
							Skeleton skulls are now available in survival. The player can obtain them by killing a skeleton with a charged creeper.
			14w30b				A single charged creeper explosion no longer yields more than one mob head. The mob head that drops is chosen randomly.
1.9			15w31a				Skeleton skulls now appear larger in the inventory.
			15w32a				Skeleton skulls can now be worn to reduce detection by the corresponding mobs by 50%.
			15w33c				The disguise that is given by mob heads now reduces detection range to 37.5% of normal.
			15w36a				The disguise that is given by mob heads now reduces detection range to 50% of normal again.
			15w39a				Dispensers can now equip skeleton skulls onto players, mobs and armor stands.
			15w49a				Skeleton skulls no longer turn red when the player or mob takes damage.[4]
1.13			17w47a				Skeleton skulls now play a sound when placed.
							Skeleton skulls can no longer be placed inside entities.[5]
			18w21a				The rarity of skeleton skulls has been changed from "Common" to "Uncommon".
1.19			Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1				Skeleton skulls now generate as part of ancient cities.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w03a				Skeleton skulls can now be placed on top of note blocks without sneaking.
1.19.4			23w05a				Skeleton skulls can now be swapped with other pieces of headgear in the head inventory slot by using them.[6]
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1			build 1				Added skeleton skulls.
							The skeleton skull uses the Java texture prior to 14w30a.
v0.14.0			build 1				Skeleton skulls can now be worn as armor.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				Skeleton skulls can now be used to craft firework stars.
			beta 1.2.0.11				Skeleton skulls in inventories and when held by mobs/players now display as blocks.
1.19.60 Experiment Next Major Update			Preview 1.19.60.25				Heads can now be placed on top of note blocks without sneaking.
1.21.30			Preview 1.21.30.21				The rarity of skeleton skulls has been changed from "Common" to "Uncommon" to match Java Edition.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU12	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added skeleton skulls to the Creative inventory.
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12			Skeleton skulls can now be used to craft a firework star with creeper-face effect.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Skeleton skulls in inventories and held by mobs/players now display as blocks.
							Skeleton skulls are now available in Survival. The player can obtain them by killing a skeleton with a charged creeper.
TU34	CU22	1.25	1.25	1.25	Patch 4		Skeleton skulls can now be swapped with other pieces of headgear in the head inventory slot by using them.
TU49	CU39	1.42	1.42	1.42	Patch 18		Skeleton skulls are now held the same way as on Java Edition in first person.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added skeleton skulls.

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Skeleton Skull" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Skeleton skulls do not have their own textures and take their textures from other objects.
• When breaking a skeleton skull, the particle effect of breaking it is the same as soul sand.
• In Bedrock Edition, the skull variant for the item is stored under the damage component, normally used for items with durability.

Gallery

Renders

• 
  Alex wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Ari wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Efe wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Kai wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Makena wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Noor wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Steve wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Sunny wearing a skeleton skull.
• 
  Zuri wearing a skeleton skull.

Screenshots

• 
  Kai wearing a skull, near a skull, near a skeleton, in an ancient city.

References

Navigation

v t e Blocks
Structural Wood/Hypha Logs Stripped Wood Stripped Stems Stripped Hyphae Stripped Block of Bamboo Stripped Bamboo Mosaic Planks Stone-based Stone Cobblestone Mossy Smooth Stone Stone Bricks Chiseled Cracked Mossy Granite Polished Diorite Polished Andesite Polished Deepslate Chiseled Cobbled Polished Deepslate Bricks Cracked Deepslate Tiles Cracked Tuff Chiseled Polished Tuff Bricks Chiseled Overworld Bricks Packed Mud Mud Bricks Block of Resin Resin Bricks Chiseled Sandstone Chiseled Cut Smooth Red Sandstone Chiseled Cut Smooth Prismarine Bricks Dark The Nether Netherrack Nether Bricks Chiseled Cracked Red Blackstone Polished Blackstone Chiseled Polished Blackstone Bricks Cracked Basalt Polished Smooth The End End Stone Bricks Purpur Block Pillar Ore/Mineral Block of Quartz Bricks Chiseled Pillar Smooth Block of Copper Chiseled Cut Grate Block of Iron Block of Gold Block of Amethyst Block of Coal Block of Diamond Block of Emerald Block of Lapis Lazuli Block of Netherite Block of Redstone
Ornamental Decorative Bookshelf Crying Obsidian Gilded Blackstone Honeycomb Block Reinforced Deepslate Partial Blocks Chain Dirt Path Fences Wooden Nether Brick Iron Bars Slabs Cut Copper Wooden Stairs Cut Copper Wooden Walls Dyeable/Dyed Wool Carpets Terracotta Stained Glazed Concrete Powder Glass Pane Tinted Stained Glass Pane Lighting Candle Dyed End Rod Froglight Glowstone Jack o'Lantern Lantern Soul Sea Lantern Torch Soul BE & edu only Colored Torches Elements Hardened Glass Pane Hardened Stained Glass Pane
Natural Sediment/Soil Dirt Coarse Grass Block Mycelium Podzol Rooted Dirt Gravel Mud Clay Sand Red Soul Sand Soul Soil Crimson Nylium Warped Nylium Misc. rock Bedrock Magma Block Obsidian Calcite Pointed Dripstone Block Ore/Mineral Amethyst Bud Cluster Budding Amethyst Ancient Debris Coal Ore Deepslate Copper Ore Deepslate Raw Block Diamond Ore Deepslate Emerald Ore Deepslate Gold Ore Deepslate Raw Block Nether Iron Ore Deepslate Raw Block Lapis Lazuli Ore Deepslate Nether Quartz Ore Redstone Ore Deepslate Plant Azalea Flowering Bamboo Shoot Beetroots Big Dripleaf Small Bush Cactus Carrots Cave Vines Chorus Plant Flower Cocoa Creaking Heart Dead Bush Fern Large Firefly Bush Hanging Roots Leaf Litter Leaves Lily Pad Mangrove Propagule Mangrove Roots Muddy Melon Stem Moss Block Carpet Pale Hanging Moss Pale Moss Block Carpet Potatoes Pumpkin Carved Stem Resin Clump Saplings Seagrass Tall Short Dry Grass Tall Short Grass Tall Spore Blossom Sugar Cane Sweet Berry Bush Vines Wheat Crops Hay Bale Flower Allium Azure Bluet Blue Orchid Cactus Flower Cornflower Dandelion Eyeblossom Lilac Lily of the Valley Oxeye Daisy Peony Pink Petals Pitcher Plant Crop Poppy Rose Bush Sunflower Torchflower Crop Tulips Wildflowers Wither Rose Fungus Fungi Crimson Warped Glow Lichen Mushrooms Blocks Stem Nether Sprouts Wart Block Nether Warped Crimson Roots Warped Roots Shroomlight Twisting Vines Weeping Vines Fauna & algae Coral Dead Coral Blocks Dead Coral Fans Dead Kelp Dried Block Sea Pickle Fauna/Related Bee Nest Bone Block Cobweb Dragon Egg Dried Ghast Frogspawn Infested Blocks Sniffer Egg Turtle Egg Sculk Sculk Sculk Catalyst Sculk Sensor Calibrated Sculk Shrieker Sculk Vein Fluid Lava Water Fluid/Related Bubble Column Ice Blue Packed Snow Powder Block Non-physical Air Cave‌ Void‌ Fire Soul
Utility Interactable Anvil Chipped Damaged Barrel Beacon Brewing Stand Cartography Table Chest Ender Copper​ Crafting Table Enchanting Table Furnace Blast Smoker Grindstone Lectern Loom Shelf​ Shulker Box Dyed Sign Hanging Smithing Table Stonecutter Utilizable Banners Ominous Beehive Beds Bell Cake with Candle Campfire Soul Cauldron Lava Powder Snow Water Chiseled Bookshelf Composter Conduit Copper Golem Statue​ Decorated Pot End Gateway End Portal End Portal Frame Farmland Fletching Table Flower Pot Frosted Ice Heads Wither Skeleton Zombie Creeper Piglin Dragon Heavy Core Jukebox Ladder Lodestone Monster Spawner Nether Portal Respawn Anchor Scaffolding Sponge Wet Suspicious Gravel Suspicious Sand TNT Trial Spawner Ominous Vault Ominous Redstone/Mechanical Buttons Wooden Stone Polished Blackstone Copper Bulb Crafter Daylight Detector Dispenser Dropper Doors Copper Iron Wooden Honey Block Hopper Lever Lightning Rod Note Block Observer Piston Sticky Head Moving Pressure Plates Wooden Stone Polished Blackstone Heavy Weighted Light Weighted Rail Activator Detector Powered Redstone Lamp Redstone Wire Comparator Repeater Torch Slime Block Target Trapped Chest Trapdoors Copper Iron Wooden Fence Gates Tripwire Hook Tripwire BE & edu only Allow Border Chalkboard Compound Creator Deny Element Constructor Heat Block Item Frame Glow Lab Table Material Reducer Underwater TNT Underwater Torch
Creative or commands only All editions Barrier Command Block Chain Repeating Jigsaw Block Light Petrified Oak Slab Player Head Structure Block Void Java Edition only Test Block Test Instance Block China Edition only mod_ore micro_block
Removed All editions Grassless Dirt Seamless Stone Slab Java Edition only Cloth Dead Coral Block Gear Lava Spawner Locked chest Rose Potted Shrub Water Spawner Bedrock Edition only Blue Rose grass_carried leaves_carried Fern Fern Smooth Stone Bricks Structure Air mysterious_frame_slot MinecraftEdu only Big Sign Border block Build allow block Build disallow block Foundation block Home Block Information block Information Sign Number Block Spawn Block Teleport Block
Unused Bedrock Edition only Chalkboard BE & edu only Camera Block Chiseled Purpur tile.client_request_placeholder_block.name Deprecated Anvil tile.deprecated_purpur_block_2.name Glowing Obsidian tile.info_update.name tile.info_update2.name Invisible Bedrock Nether Reactor Core tile.reserved6.name Stonecutter (old) Unknown
Unimplemented All editions Blue Berries Branches Copper Button Colored Planks Coral Slab Dead Dirt Slab Empty Barrel Fish Barrel Furniture Paeonia Sand Layer Sculk Jaw Spike Block Wax Block
Joke April Fools 2013 Block of Coal Etho Slab Tinted Glass Torch (Burnt-out) April Fools 2016 USB Charger Block April Fools 2020 An Ant Box of Infinite Books Cursor Funky Portal Leftover Swaggiest stairs ever April Fools 2022 How did we get here? April Fools 2023 Cheese Copper Sink Filled Copper Spleaves Golden Chest Other Portal Packed Air Pickaxe Block Place Block April Fools 2024 Baked Potato Bricks Expired Charred Big Brain Block of Amber Block of Potato Peels Corrupted Floatater Floatato Frying Table Gravtater Pedestal Peelgrass Block Corrupted Poison Farmland Poison Path Poisonous Mashed Potato Poisonous Potato Block Compressed Double Compressed Triple Compressed Quadruple Compressed Poisonous Potato Cutter Poisonous Potato Head Block Poisonous Potato Headpiece Poisonous Potato Ore Deepslate Potato Battery Potato Bud Potato flower Potato Fruit Potato Leaves Potato Pedicule Potato Portal Potato Refinery Potato Sprouts Potato Stem Planks Slab Stairs Door Trapdoor Button Pressure Plate Sign Hanging Sign Fence Fence Gate Potone Copper Ore Diamond Ore Gold Ore Iron Ore Lapis Lazuli Ore Redstone Ore Resin Ore Powerful Potato Strong Roots Taterstone Terre de Pomme Vicious Potato Weak Roots April Fools 2025 Dimension Control Mine Travelling Block Mine Revisitor Mine Crafter Mob Trophy Shimmering Door Sky Trophy
Extreme metadata variants All editions Directionless Hopper Seamless Stone Slab Six-sided Hay Bale Six-sided Piston Java Edition only Faceless Furnace Faceless Jack o'Lantern Green Shrub Potted Inaccessible "Boring" Blocks Invisible stairs Misaligned torch Redstone Nether portal post Overripe Melon Stem Attached Overripe Pumpkin Stem Attached Overgrown Cocoa Overeaten Cake Overgrown Wheat Crops Potted non-flower block Snowy Dirt Coarse Strange buttons Bedrock Edition only Bell Stand Diorite Bell Granite Bell Polished Six-sided Bone Block Six-sided Purpur Pillar Six-sided Quartz Pillar Smokeless Campfire