All language subtitles for The.UnXplained.S03E06.Sacred.Bones.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A village celebration

attended by human remains.

An underground labyrinth

filled with skeletons.

And a remote mountain lake
that hides...

a deadly secret.

After we die,
what do we really leave behind?

Our bones?

That's it?

But there are those who believe
that our bones are much more

than mere lifeless reminders
of our existence.

It's thought by many that
our remains can bring good luck,

good health, or even allow us
to speak with the dead.

Is it possible that our bones
hold some kind of sacred power?

Or perhaps even our souls?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

On this large island
in the Indian Ocean,

some 250 miles off
the eastern coast of Africa,

the indigenous Malagasy people
gather every few years

for a multi-generational
celebration

known as "Famadihana."

But this party is not
a typical family get-together

because the Malagasy don't just
invite their living relatives

to this reunion.

They also invite the dead ones.

DOMINIC STEAVU:
Famadihana,

or the turning of the bones,
is a ritual that is performed

usually once every
five to seven years,

in which a... uh, the family
or the relatives

of a deceased person
will get together

from all over, and celebrate
the life of the deceased.

They exhume the body,
they carefully lay it out,

they clean it, and then
change the death shrouds,

on the basis of this idea
that the living can intervene

on behalf of the dead,
to improve their lot

or their level of comfort
in the afterlife.

One part of the celebration
also involves

basically shouldering
the bones of the deceased,

and the turning of the bones
will take place.

Sometimes dancing with them.

(cheering, whooping)

Usually the ceremony concludes

when they re-entomb the remains
of the deceased.

But they're not
cutting off the memory

of this person
from their lives.

They will keep them present
in their lives,

until the next time
they see them,

which is periodically,
every five to seven years.

And this is a way to really

reinforce the connection
between the living and the dead.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
People will come to honor

the lost ancestors, to be sure.

But also, to work
on coming to terms

with death that hovers
around our lives.

Some cultures deal with it
more directly than others.

And the value
of this tradition is

that it's a different way
of thinking

about how death ends a life, but
it does not end a relationship.

So, it is lovely, even though
it's a little eerie.

It reminds us
the dead aren't entirely gone.

SHATNER:
Bones.

Our bodies contain 206 of them,

and each one has been
meticulously studied

and catalogued by scientists.

And yet, for some reason,

the sight
of our skeletal remains

still sparks morbid fascination
and mystery.

But why is that?

YOUNG:
The skeleton represents death,

and the danger of death
and our mortality.

This symbol is so universal
that it shows up

in different
geographical locations,

in areas that have
different religions.

It also is a kind of warning,
"Danger here,"

if there's a dangerous
location or a poison.

"Don't drink this."

And then, of course, it was

on the flag of the pirates,
the Jolly Roger.

A very quick
symbolic representation

that, "Deal with us,
and you're dealing with death."

TOK THOMPSON:
Certainly, skeletons

are an easy symbol that can be
reused in many, many cultures.

The skeleton is spooky,
it's scary.

On the other hand,
how we interact

with actual skeletons
is enormously different.

Skeletons are never mundane,
they are always important,

a truly sacred object.

Globally speaking,
one theme that you will see

throughout all civilizations
is this idea

that people should
have a proper funeral,

or-or whatever funerary rite,
and that without that,

the process
of leaving one's body,

going into the spirit world

uh, might be somehow disturbed.

YOUNG:
There are many belief systems

that suggest the soul is
attached to the body,

particularly the bones,

and that as long as bones exist,

some trace presence of soul,

the soul of the person
that lived in that body

will still remain
with the bones.

SHATNER:
Could it be true that our souls

really remain in our bones
after we die?

While that idea may sound
far-fetched,

there are some people around
the world who believe it's true.

In fact, it's often thought
that our souls lie

within the most recognizable
part of the human body--

the skull.

SARAH LACY:
People really

latch onto skulls as being
the most important bone

that gets left behind.

Many cultures assume
that thought

and consciousness exists
in the skull,

and it's quite common,
then, to also assume

that the soul resides
within that part of the body

and to assume that it stays
there in the skull after death.

ANDREW COLLINS:
In the past, many different cultures believed

that skulls were
incredibly important

because they were seen as points
of contact with the ancestors.

By holding them, um,
by connecting in mind with them,

you could actually communicate,
you know, with your departed.

So, they were often decorated,
plaster was put around them,

they were given
cowrie shell eyes.

And it was believed
that these would act

as points of communication

with whoever they represented

on Earth
when they were still alive.

SHATNER:
Each year, on November 8,

the indigenous Aymara people
gather for an ancient custom,

a colorful procession known
as "Día de las Ñatitas,"

or the Festival of Skulls.

STEAVU:
The Aymara indigenous people

of Bolivia and Peru keep skulls

in shrines in the home.

They keep them
in places of honor

in households and make
regular offerings to them.

The skulls are thought
to bring harmony to the family.

They're thought to protect
people from illness and death.

And they also
ask them for advice.

They ask them for support
or for help.

And once a year,
they will take out the skull

and parade them
in this festival.

PAUL KOUDOUNARIS:
You'll get 20,000 or 30,000 people

down in the cemetery.

It's really quite a spectacle
'cause you'll get people

bringing five or more skulls

down in big boxes,
and they dress them up.

If it's cold in the morning,
they'll put on a hat.

They'll put sunglasses on them.

And there are certain offerings
that are pretty typical--

cigarettes, alcohol,

little bits of money,
coca leaves, things like that.

You know, and it's kind of
a "thank you" to make sure

the dead will continue
to assist the living.

STEAVU:
These skulls are perceived as a kind of portal

between the realm
of the living and the dead.

A site where the spirit
of the deceased can manifest.

And it's through these skulls
that the living can communicate

with the dead,
as if they are living

and as if they are present,

there and then, in those skulls.

There's something about the way
that the skulls are presented

that you feel like these
individuals are being venerated.

We're a species that
communicates with our face.

So, it shouldn't surprise us
that we really fixate

on the skull, as being a way

to honor and communicate

with those ancestors.

SHATNER:
Do our bones retain some spiritual essence

of who we are?

An energy that lingers
long after our flesh decays?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the earthly remains

of certain holy individuals.

Remains that have been carefully
preserved by the faithful

for thousands of years.

SHATNER:
High atop a plateau

overlooking the Allegheny River

sits Saint Anthony's Chapel.

Every day, Christians
from all over the world pass

beneath its tall spires
and rounded arches

to participate
in devotion and prayer.

However, it's not the outside
of Saint Anthony's Chapel

that makes it such
an inspiring destination,

but rather, the inside.

Because within
this church lies something

that is quite unusual.

A collection
of thousands of bones

that once belonged
to Catholic Saints.

VASKOV:
When you come here and you walk in and you see

these beautiful gold
or brass reliquaries

and just how vast
the collection is,

which include anything
from part of an arm bone

or a leg bone, to the skulls,
and the full skeletons,

it really is just overwhelming.

At Saint Anthony Chapel,
there are over 5,000 relics,

and this collection is
second only to the Vatican.

So, here at Saint Anthony's,
it really is a unique experience

to come and see
the relics of saints.

SHATNER:
The relics of Saint Anthony,

Saint Demetrius,

Saint Stephana,

and Saint Theodore,
among many others,

are kept
in Saint Anthony's Chapel.

YOUNG:
St. Anthony's is quite a place.

They have items-- they come from
the four corners of the world,

mostly the Holy Land,
and they're all protected there,

and we can see these relics.

You can see a little
of the holy there

in a tooth, or a piece of skull,

which is a relic,
a piece of a saint.

A relic that you can actually
look at and be close to.

That's like a little bit of God
right there in the chapel.

SHATNER:
Millions of Christians consider holy relics

to be sacred.

And it's well-known
that the bones

of many saints are preserved in
cathedrals throughout the world.

But how did such a vast
collection of relics end up

in a chapel in Pittsburgh?

VASKOV:
What makes the collection

of relics here
particularly unique

is the way in which
they were obtained

by Father Mollinger,
who built the chapel.

He obtained them
in the late 1880s

because there were people
who just thought

that the relics had no value,
and things were being discarded.

Father Mollinger had a network
of people in Europe

who were preserving the relics,

and he would go
and retrieve them himself.

We have pilgrimages come in at
least once a week if not more.

And what a gift it is to be able
to welcome them

and share this treasure
that we have here.

SHATNER:
Each and every relic is enclosed with a wax seal,

both to ensure its authenticity,

and to protect it
from those who might wish

to tamper with the holy remains.

But why are holy relics

so coveted and revered
in the first place?

Why go to such
extraordinary lengths

to preserve these ancient bones?

KEN JEREMIAH:
All throughout Europe, in churches,

you'll see these
bejeweled skeletons

adorned with gold, silver,
and expensive jewels,

that really look like
they're works of art,

but strange works of art.

And the whole purpose
of this is because

there is this idea,
especially in Christianity,

that there is this inherent
spiritual power

that infuses the remains,

and that spirit has
to be honored.

McGOWAN:
The bones of saints and martyrs

in Christianity are
of exceptional value,

and extraordinary power

according
to Christian tradition.

It was believed

that when a saint was murdered
for their beliefs,

that their bones became infused
with their sanctity,

the essence of their grace.

ROBERT CARGILL:
Holy relics,

specifically skeletal relics,

stem from this tradition

that the bones themselves
possess power.

And this comes from the Bible.

You have a story in 2 Kings,
in the Hebrew Bible,

in the Old Testament
of a burial procession.

And they were doing a burial.

And they saw
some invaders coming,

and they just threw the body
on top of the bones

of the prophet Elisha,

which were already lying
in the ground.

And as soon as the dead body
touched the bones of Elisha,

they came back to life.

So, obviously,
the bones of Elisha have

some life-giving property.

McGOWAN:
We also have stories

from the very beginning
of Christianity

about miracles related to
the bones of different saints.

The bones of Saint Lazarus,
for example,

who was raised from the dead
by Jesus, were highly coveted.

And there are legends
in Provence

that the bones of Lazarus
were brought in

to people
who were sick and dying,

and that utilizing the bones
in the presence

of these people
with the right kind of prayers

would then heal them
of this near fatal illness.

THOMPSON:
There was a huge, lucrative market

in Medieval Europe
for saints' bones.

Different cathedrals would be
vying with each other

about who could have
the most important relics.

So even today, if you go
to the cathedrals of Europe,

any good cathedral
will have a few

body parts in there of saints.

SHATNER:
Ancient relics that can channel the power of God?

For some, that idea is
a little hard to believe.

In fact, there are
many skeptics who claim

that supposed holy relics are
not even the actual bones

of Christian saints.

And yet, some of these relics
have been proven

to be quite authentic.

Of all the holy relics
that exist from the saints,

perhaps the most fascinating
is the skull of Mary Magdalene.

The relics and the skull
of Mary Magdalene have been kept

on display in
the Basilica of Saint-Maximin

in the southwest of France
since about the fourth century

and have been dated
and carbon-dated

and examined in a number
of different ways.

So, we're pretty clear
that these are actually

truly the relics
of Mary Magdalene.

Now because Mary Magdalene
was present

for the resurrection
of Jesus Christ,

her relics were considered
to have even more power

and importance
than perhaps any other saint.

There was an understanding that
you could even potentially

bring somebody back
from the dead

with the relics
of Mary Magdalene.

There have been miracles
recorded for centuries

from people who were in the
presence of Magdalene's relics.

And many people believe
that you could benefit

from the extraordinary sanctity

that was said to rest
in her bones.

And people who go

to revere her skull have
incredibly powerful

emotional experiences with it.

It really radiates a type
of grace and a spirituality.

And people walk
away from it sobbing.

People fall to their knees.

VASKOV:
I've heard many stories of people who trust,

with all their heart,
that the encounter they had

with the relics of saints

brought about healing
in their life.

In fact,
over in the chapel museum,

there are crutches
and canes and things

that people were able to cast
aside because they were healed.

If someone would doubt
whether this is real,

whether this is authentic,

I would just invite them

to talk to someone whose life,
even in the slightest way,

was made better
or made different

because of their encounter with
the saints through holy relics.

It's fascinating to think

about how the bones of saints
could be imbued

with divine power than can
actually bring us closer to God.

But what happens
when the remains

of the dead aren't treated
with such veneration and care?

Perhaps the answer can be found
deep beneath the city of Paris

in a labyrinth of tunnels
that has been called

"The Empire of the Dead."

SHATNER: More than two million
people live and work

in this
41-square-mile metropolis.

And although Paris is one
of the world's most

instantly recognizable cities,

just below the surface
of the City of Light

lurks a mysterious darkness--

a centuries-old labyrinth
of tunnels that contains

the bones of millions
of bodies--

the Paris Catacombs.

JEREMIAH:
When you walk in there,

you will see bones stacked.

They're everywhere.

You'll have thigh bones
stacked up in places.

You'll have skulls
stacked in other places.

It's almost like a warehouse
of human bones.

LACY:
We don't know which bone goes with which.

Sometimes they're just
piled up, but sometimes

it's almost a decoration,
where they put them.

In some cases,

they're more architecturally
or artistically placed.

YOUNG:
There are lined along the walls, thousands

of skeletons, some with bits
of clothing hanging off of them.

It's a whole network
of tunnels really.

There's about a mile of it
that's open to visitors,

and you can see some
of these places.

SHATNER:
Over the main entrance to the Paris Catacombs,

there is carved a sign which,
when translated, reads,

"Stop. This is
the Empire of the Dead."

According to some estimates,

the Paris Catacombs
hold the bones

of more than six million people.

But why did Parisians decide
to stack all these bones

together in the first place?

LACY:
In Paris, you had people being buried

in a traditional sense
in a graveyard.

But those are finite locations.

And they started
running out of space.

So, if that is the case,
after a certain amount of time,

individuals are going
to get dug back up

to create space for new burials,

and you have to do something
with those bones.

So, they started
to utilize catacombs as a way

to relocate those bones.

THOMPSON:
In the Parisian Catacombs,

very often bones have
been rearranged,

made into even sculptural
sort of forms.

In many ways, this conflicts
with that Christian idea

of keeping the body together.

KOUDOUNARIS:
The one thing

most funeral practices
have in the world

is some kind of respect
for one's ancestor,

or some kind of feeling that
this is one last act of charity

that needs to be completed for
the soul to move on properly.

On the other hand,

the Paris Catacombs
was not a sacred site.

They are going to get rid
of the old bones,

and they don't want
to have this problem again.

I would question whether the
Paris Catacombs are respectful

to the dead or not.

SHATNER:
Did the builders of the Paris Catacombs

desecrate the souls of the dead

by moving their bones
from cemeteries

to the dark tunnels
beneath the city?

There are many who believe
the answer is "yes,"

and there's a local legend
which says that moving the bones

of so many deceased people

unleashed a dark
and malevolent force

that still haunts the catacombs.

It is believed that if you're
there in the hours of darkness,

after midnight,
that you hear whispers

coming from the spirits
of the skeletons,

drawing you deeper and deeper
and deeper into the catacombs,

where you get so lost,
you will never get out.

(ghostly whispering)

YOUNG:
The system of tunnels is really elaborate.

You can get turned around
down there and get lost.

There's a legend
in the city of Paris

that there was a doorman
at a hospital

named Philibert Aspairt,

and he went on an errand
down a staircase.

One rumor is that he was going
to the wine cellar

to get a certain cognac.
We don't know.

But there were various points of
entry into the Paris Catacombs,

and apparently, he went down
the wrong staircase.

And he got himself in there
and turned around and lost,

and never came out

and died in there.

And they didn't find his body
for 11 years.

So, they buried him
right there in 1804.

KOUDOUNARIS:
Paris Catacombs really were designed

to be a spectacle
and a tourist attraction.

You know, they were not designed
to have a sacred function.

You didn't go down
in there and pray.

They designed it
to be a famous macabre site.

And the whole point of it
was, like, you know,

you look in this room,
and you cannot tell

the king from the pauper.

You cannot tell the wise man
from the fool.

Death is this great leveler.

Understanding that aspect
of death is an incentive

to live right.

If you think about it,
the Paris Catacombs are

a pretty grim reminder
that we have no control

over what happens
to our bones after we die.

But there's another location,
high in the Himalayas,

that is even more unsettling.

A place where the bones of
hundreds of people can be found

beneath the waters
of an icy lake.

SHATNER: High atop
the Himalayan Mountains

sits a small body of water
called "Roopkund Lake."

For most of the year,
the lake's waters are frozen.

But during the summer months,

as the snow and ice
slowly melt away,

a bizarre spectacle is revealed.

PRYOR:
Roopkund Lake is a place high up

in the Himalayan Mountains
in the northern part of India.

It's close to the second
highest mountain in India.

And it is mostly unremarkable,

other than the fact
that we have thousands

of human bones scattered around
the shores of this lake,

and that really is something
which is exceptional.

Now, these bones have been known
about for a very long time.

The site is visited by locals

and by tourists and backpackers

who have interacted
with the bones.

LACY:
As people have come by, people have picked the bones up,

they've stacked them into piles,

and in many cases,
walked off with them.

So, this location is
an interesting example of

how humans interact with bones.

There are still a lot
of unanswered questions.

Did all those individuals
die there,

or were they taken there
from somewhere else?

Is it possible that in the past,
there were ceremonies

about disposing of bodies
in this location

that have been lost to time?

PRYOR:
I know that we have the remains

from something like
600 to 800 human individuals.

These bones are from adults,

and for many years,
there was a common assumption

that all of these individuals
had all died

as a result of one
catastrophic event.

THOMPSON:
Most mass graves that we see around the world

are the results of one event.

A mass slaughter,
a mass catastrophe.

In the case of Roopkund Lake,
you see something different.

Looking at the bones, people
have been able to figure out

that there are several
different population groups

that are located in this lake,

separated by hundreds,
possibly even 1,000 years.

So clearly,
it was not one event.

Clearly, there was
a series of events

around this lake
that led to people being here.

SHATNER:
Experts have had trouble explaining

why so many groups
of people journeyed

to this lake at different times,

over the course
of centuries, and died.

It's a fascinating story,
and recently,

the collection of bones
has become even more mysterious.

In 2019, scientists from
Harvard University conducted

a DNA study and found
that some of the people

who died at this lake
came from far away.

Very far away.

THOMPSON:
Most people are from South Asia,

but one significant population
group seems to have been

from Greece, specifically
from an island of Crete.

So one big question is,
what was a bunch of

people from the island of Crete

doing up in northern India
even to begin with?

Let alone, how they ended up
at the bottom of Roopkund Lake?

PRYOR:
The only thing which really makes any kind of sense

is the idea that they were
on a pilgrimage

through the mountains.

Now, this is documented
and known in recent times.

There is a pilgrimage
which is made

by people following
the Hindu faith,

who will travel
through these mountains.

SHATNER:
Is it possible the bones in Roopkund Lake

are the remains
of unlucky travelers

on pilgrimage
through the Himalayas?

And if so,
what caused their demise?

Some experts believe a clue
may be found in a local legend

involving a Hindu goddess
named "Nanda Devi."

STEAVU:
Nanda Devi is a mountain goddess

that oversees the second
tallest mountain in India.

There are shrines built to her
throughout the mountain.

So there is this legend
of a king and queen

and, uh, their many attendants

making their way up
the mountain

to one of these shrines.

They were being
boisterous and festive

as they approached the shrine.

And Nanda Devi
was insulted by that.

She felt that they weren't

respectful enough
of this sacred space.

So, out of anger,
she called on these iron balls

to rain from the sky
onto the king and queen

and their entire party.

Now, this is believed
to be the explanation

for at least some
of the human remains

that were found at the bottom
of this lake on the mountain.

Many of them died from
blunt force trauma to the skull.

THOMPSON:
This is an area without a lot of tree cover,

without a lot of shelter,
and it's also an area

that is known
for intense hailstorms.

Hailstorms with hail
as big as your fist.

And you can imagine
if you're out in a caravan

or a pilgrimage,
and all of a sudden,

this massive hail
comes down in this area,

that could take out
people regularly

over a thousand years'
time period.

It's plausible.

But what's also clear
is that when people started

seeing all
these skeletons together,

all sorts of stories
were developed

as to who these people were
and why they were there.

And I think this reminds us

that if people see
something anomalous,

you seek an explanation.

If you see a whole bunch
of skeletons in one place,

people are going
to try to explain it.

Whether or not
the people who traveled

to Skeletons Lake were
the victims of an angry goddess,

or just freak hailstorms,

perhaps the real lesson
of Skeletons Lake is

that our bones tell stories
even after we're dead.

And that's certainly the case
with an ancient skull

that was recently discovered.

A skull that calls into question
the origins of humanity.

SHATNER: Paleontologists from
China's Hebei GEO University

analyze an astonishing discovery

from the bottom of
an ancient well.

(camera shutter clicking)

Their study is of the largest
human skull ever found.

The extraordinary find makes
headlines around the world

and sparks intense debate
about this ancient skull,

which scientists have
nicknamed the "Dragon Man."

The Dragon Man skull is arguably
the most mysterious cranium

that's ever been discovered
in this world.

It is the largest ever.

It's actually around nine inches
long by six inches across.

It was discovered in 1933
by a Chinese workman.

And because at the time,
that part of China was occupied

by the Japanese, he felt
that the best thing to do was

to hide it away in a well.

And it was left there until 2018
when he revealed the location

to his grandson.

The grandson went and dug it up,

and it was still there
in absolute perfect condition.

And he gave it
to a local university,

and it obviously came
to the attention

of the scientific community.

The Dragon Man skull
is interesting because

the cranial shape is shaped
like an American football

being very elongated,

whereas a modern human skull,
Homo sapiens,

would be more rounded in shape.

The skull is
generally very robust,

including a very
pronounced brow ridge.

The eye sockets on Dragon Man
are also very large

and more square in shape
versus a modern human's

which are smaller
and more rounded.

Based off of what we know
about the skull,

it probably dates
to around 200,000 years ago.

Dragon Man is such
a new discovery

that lots of ideas are coming
out of the field

about exactly what did
this population look like

and how do they relate to us?

PRYOR:
The Dragon Man

is bringing us face to face
for the first time

with a new Asian version
of human,

which very likely
we also interbred with,

and whose DNA we probably
also carry in us today as well.

It's one of these finds which
occasionally comes along

which is really changing what
we know about our human story.

SHATNER:
Experts agree that the discovery of the Dragon Man

redefines our understanding
of humanity's past.

And there are some researchers
who believe

that further investigation
of the skull

will reveal shocking truths

about this previously
unknown cousin of man.

COLLINS:
There is every indication

that the Dragon Man may well
have been not only large

in size but also
of great height.

Possibly as much as seven
to seven and a half feet tall.

And if you want
to imagine them, just think

that in the past
you'd have had the small guys

that would have been
the Neanderthals,

who were about five
to five and a half feet tall,

you'd have had our own
modern human ancestors

that were around six feet tall,

and you'd have had
the much bigger,

much stronger Dragon Man.

With the discovery
of the Dragon Man skull,

we might have
the first real evidence

that giants once
walked the Earth.

SHATNER:
Is it possible

that the Dragon Man was
actually a giant?

Perhaps clues can be found
by examining

the numerous historical accounts
of people claiming

to have encountered
ancient giants.

Giants are a stock character of
folklore throughout the world.

For example,
the Bible clearly states

that there were giants
on the Earth.

HUGH NEWMAN:
In North America, the Native American cultures

have many
of these giant stories.

For example,
in Mi'kmaq tradition,

we find stories of giants that
would hunt people and eat them.

We have similar stories in
the Algonquian-speaking Natives

of North America as well,
and traditions,

even up to relatively
recent time,

would honor
these ancient giants.

And this is something
that's just prevalent

in different parts of the world.

SHATNER:
There are many skeptics

who write off tales of giants
as nothing more

than exaggeration or fantasy.

But there are others
who insist

that giants were,
in fact, quite real.

And as evidence, they point
to accounts of large human bones

being discovered
throughout North America.

NEWMAN:
During the mid-1800s,

the Smithsonian Institution
had an edict

where they would collect
all the different skeletons

of Native American
cultures from mounds,

from caves, from all over
the country, basically.

And they started finding
these remarkable skeletons

and discoveries that suggested

there was a very advanced
race of giants

living in North America.

And even in their
Smithsonian annual reports

in the late 1800s, specifically

the fifth and the twelfth
annual reports,

they documented between seven
and eight-foot-tall skeletons

that their Smithsonian employees
actually dug up themselves.

And yet, in 1910 onwards,

when Ales Hrdlicka became
the director of the Smithsonian,

he put a news report out saying

giants are no more,
and tried to delete this idea

that giants ever existed,
even though

they discovered some themselves
in the late 1800s.

And so,
there's a definite mystery here

when it comes
to trying to find evidence

of these giant skeletons
of North America.

COLLINS:
Hundreds, perhaps even thousands,

of these giant skeletons
have been unearthed,

but the problem with this is

that all of them
today have been lost.

Everything that was inside
the Smithsonian Institute had

to be given back,
or they were just destroyed.

And so, the importance
of the discovery

of the Dragon Man skull
is in the fact

that this archaic human
that once existed

in this region of China
has been brought back

into reality and is being
studied by the scientists today.

You can discover
so much information

from just a single bone.

It opens up a whole world
of opportunity

for what we can learn about

who humans are
and where we came from.

Is the Dragon Man really
the skull of an ancient giant?

It seems hard to believe.

But just imagine
what it would mean

if we could actually prove that
giants once roamed the Earth.

Something to ponder

while we investigate yet another
collection of ancient bones.

Bones that might have the power
to unleash a deadly curse.

SHATNER: While making their way
across a snowy mountain range

spanning the border
of Italy and Austria,

two German hikers
make a gruesome discovery.

The body of a man,
half-frozen in ice.

When scientists later remove the
skeleton from the icy ground,

they come
to a shocking realization.

The man,
who they nicknamed "Otzi,"

lived over 5,000 years ago.

PRYOR:
This is a really spectacular find,

because of the level
of preservation here.

We have the full body preserved,

including all of his skin,

all of the internal organs,
and all of the possessions

that he was carrying
at the time.

And this, therefore,
is giving us unique insights

into this individual

and also what life
was like when he lived.

SHATNER:
The recovery of Otzi's skeleton

made headlines worldwide,

and his bones became
an object of intense fascination

and scientific study.

But then, unexpectedly,

a series of bizarre deaths
took place in the years

after Otzi's bones
were recovered.

There's something very
mysterious going on here

with this Otzi Iceman
since he was discovered.

In the early '90s,
and going into the 2000s,

people have died
who were involved

in the discovery
or the presentation of Otzi.

A gentleman called Rainer Henn
had the privilege

of placing Otzi's body

into a body bag
at the discovery.

He died in a car crash.

Kurt Fritz, who was involved
in the transportation of Otzi

from one place to another,
died in an avalanche.

Helmut Simon,
one of the discoverers of Otzi,

had fallen 300 feet
to his death.

Several other people
have died, as well.

SHATNER:
All told, seven people connected

to the discovery of Otzi died.

Were their untimely deaths
simply a coincidence?

Or is it possible

that the deaths were
actually the consequence

of disturbing Otzi's bones,
which had remained untouched

for thousands of years?

NEWMAN:
Some people believe

there may even be
a curse associated

with this man
buried in the ice.

Otzi had these
very strange tattoos,

all these spirals
and different designs.

If he was some kind
of shaman or sorcerer,

did he place a curse
over his body to protect him

from future generations
digging him up?

It's known
that it took four full days

to excavate him from the ice.

So there's an element
of desecration of a grave.

THOMPSON:
There are many sort of curse stories and curse rumors

that follow the realm
of archaeology,

because archaeology
is often involving

digging people out
of their graves.

Is that disturbing their peace?

Not allowing them
to rest in peace?

What we can see is that this
does reflect a popular belief

that maybe there is
something wrong

with handling a body
in this mundane sense,

as if it's an object to study.

JEREMIAH:
When a body decomposes, what's left?

You have the skeleton.

If there's a real spiritual
essence that's within the body,

it wouldn't fade away
with the body.

It wouldn't fade away
with the flesh.

It would remain
with the bones themselves.

Obviously, life is finite.

We're only gonna be here
for a certain amount of time.

So the big question remains,
when we leave

and people view our remains,
hopefully they honor us.

Whether it's a sacred skull
or a holy relic

or a cursed skeleton, bones
have a way of making us believe

that after we die,
some part of us lives on.

But is that really true,

or is it just
wishful thinking on our part?

Well, that my friends,
is a fascinating question,

but it's one that,
while we're still alive,

will remain... unexplained.

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