KUED Programs

A tomb of 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones discovered in El Sidron, a remote, mountainous region of northern Spain, leads to a compelling investigation to solve a double mystery: How did this group of Neanderthals die? And could the fate of this group help explain Neanderthal extinction? Scientists examine the bones and discover signs that tell a shocking story of how this group may have met their deaths. Some bones bear distinct signs of cannibalism. Was it a result of ritual or hunger? Neanderthal experts are adamant that they were not bloodthirsty brutes. What happened here 49,000 years ago will take viewers on a much bigger journey - from El Sidron to the other end of the Iberian Peninsula, where scientists are excavating beneath the seas off Gibraltar in search of Neanderthal sites.

This program investigates a fantastic WWII tale of jungle ambushes, extreme engineering, blow darts defenses, and enemy headhunting. In 1945, an American B24 bomber is shot down over Japanese -- controlled Borneo. The airmen bail out and survive, only to find themselves isolated and lost in the impenetrable jungle. Briefed to fear the "savage" Dayak inhabitants, the Americans are instead taken in by these tribes and become witness to a compassionate, resourceful people who shatter stereotypes, protect them from the Japanese, and eventually deliver them safely into the hands of an eccentric British Major who orchestrates their rescue by building a bamboo runway deep in the Borneo interior.

In 2009 a team of marine archeologists, carrying out a sonar survey of the seabed around the remote Italian island of Ventotene, made an astonishing discovery. The wrecks of five ancient Roman ships were found in pristine condition, each one fully laden with exotic goods. Remarkably, much of the cargo remained exactly as the ancient Roman crews had loaded it, suggesting that these ships had not capsized but had gone to the bottom of the sea intact and upright. What happened to these ancient ships? What were they carrying and why had they traveled to this remote, rocky island in the first place? "Lost Ships of Rome" follows the team as they explore the sites in detail, salvage artifacts and piece together the history of the ships and why they were lost at Ventotene 2,000 years ago.