1
00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,960
Speaker 1: Welcome to Unexplained Extra the final episode of season four

2
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,720
Speaker 1: with me Richard McClain Smith, where for the weeks in

3
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,560
Speaker 1: between episodes we look at stories and ideas that, for

4
00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,400
Speaker 1: one reason or other, didn't make it into the previous show.

5
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,800
Speaker 1: In the last episode, The Weight Under, we learned about

6
00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,120
Speaker 1: a series of strange events that apparently plagued a number

7
00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:36,159
Speaker 1: of residents of the Newport housing development just outside of Houston,

8
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,919
Speaker 1: Texas in the nineteen eighties. The events, which ranged from

9
00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,400
Speaker 1: alleged to supernatural activity to general feelings of oppression and malaise,

10
00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,840
Speaker 1: were said to have been so incessant that many residents

11
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,720
Speaker 1: were ultimately forced to move, often at a considerable cost.

12
00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,280
Speaker 1: When it transpired, the development had been partially built over

13
00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,680
Speaker 1: an unofficial graveyard known as Black Hope Cemetery. Many of

14
00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,640
Speaker 1: those affected were left wondering if that had in some

15
00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,399
Speaker 1: way been a trigger for all that had taken place.

16
00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,080
Speaker 1: It is a compelling idea, and one that is routinely

17
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,880
Speaker 1: played out in many a successful horror story. Certainly, whatever

18
00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:21,120
Speaker 1: we believe about the supposed supernatural consequences of disturbing a grave,

19
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:23,759
Speaker 1: there are few of us who wouldn't feel a little

20
00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,759
Speaker 1: uneasy at the prospect of unwittingly digging up someone's final

21
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,640
Speaker 1: resting place, or indeed living above it. And yet we

22
00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:38,759
Speaker 1: might ask why all of us will die. And even

23
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,240
Speaker 1: for those who believe we are somehow more than a

24
00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,080
Speaker 1: bundle of cells and flickering synapses, and that something else

25
00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,280
Speaker 1: awaits us beyond this mortal realm, there are few who

26
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,720
Speaker 1: consider the preservation of the body or its final resting

27
00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:57,440
Speaker 1: place to have any significant bearing on that. But then again,

28
00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:08,799
Speaker 1: death has never really been about the dead. In September

29
00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:14,080
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen, cave divers Rick Hunter and Stephen Tucker set

30
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,880
Speaker 1: out to explore the Rising Star cave system, located thirty

31
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,520
Speaker 1: miles northwest of Johannesburg in the Fossil Homonid site of

32
00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,360
Speaker 1: South Africa. The region is so named due to the

33
00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,760
Speaker 1: propensity of ancient hominid fossils, particularly those belonging to Homo

34
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 1: sapiens and our closest relatives that have been found there.

35
00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,600
Speaker 1: Having made it about sixty meters in and thirty meters

36
00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,480
Speaker 1: down through a series of hair raisingly narrow passages, jagged

37
00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,760
Speaker 1: rock faces, and stalagmite chambers, the men paused to take

38
00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,840
Speaker 1: some video footage. Not wanting to get in the picture,

39
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,280
Speaker 1: Tucker dropped into a small crack by the back wall,

40
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,079
Speaker 1: only to find it was a little deeper than he'd

41
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:01,519
Speaker 1: first assumed in tree. To find out just how deep

42
00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,359
Speaker 1: it was, Tucker continued dropping into it through a passage

43
00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,120
Speaker 1: as narrow as eight inches in parts, until finally, at

44
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,840
Speaker 1: about fifteen meters down, he hit the bottom, Turning to

45
00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,160
Speaker 1: find the space opening up below him, Tucker soon found

46
00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,160
Speaker 1: himself in an entirely new section of the cave that

47
00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 1: had never been mapped before, as recounted by Jamie Shrieve

48
00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,239
Speaker 1: for the National Geographic with Hunter joining him soon after,

49
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,320
Speaker 1: Tucker made a quick sweep of the chamber with his

50
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:37,320
Speaker 1: head torch and drew back in astonishment. The floor was

51
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:42,800
Speaker 1: littered with fossilized bones, many of which looked to be human.

52
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,760
Speaker 1: Realizing the potential of their find, the cavers took photos

53
00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,080
Speaker 1: of their discovery that eventually made their way to eminent

54
00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:57,480
Speaker 1: paleoanthropologist Professor Lee Berger of the University of Fittworter Strand

55
00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:03,120
Speaker 1: in Johannesburg. However, as Berger and his team soon discovered

56
00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,040
Speaker 1: the bones weren't human at all, nor did they belong

57
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:12,440
Speaker 1: to any of our direct ancestors. Instead, they concluded they

58
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,960
Speaker 1: were in fact the bones of an earlier offshoot of

59
00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,840
Speaker 1: the Homo genus, which had never been seen before. They

60
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:24,039
Speaker 1: later named it Homo nilledi, after the local Sotho word

61
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:29,520
Speaker 1: for star. In twenty seventeen, the fossils were found to

62
00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,560
Speaker 1: be roughly two hundred and fifty thousand years old. Despite

63
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,599
Speaker 1: all of that, however, as Page Madison noted in a

64
00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,760
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen essay in Aon magazine, it is arguable that

65
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,599
Speaker 1: what was most shocking about the discovery was not the

66
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,320
Speaker 1: age of the fossils, or that they belonged to a

67
00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,840
Speaker 1: previously unknown species, but rather the location in which they

68
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,919
Speaker 1: were discovered. Considering how deep and inaccessible the chamber is,

69
00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,960
Speaker 1: not to mention its complete lack of natural it is

70
00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,720
Speaker 1: highly unlikely that homeowner Leddie lived there. Taking into account

71
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,800
Speaker 1: that there were no signs of predation, no sign that

72
00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,919
Speaker 1: the bones had dropped into the chamber from above, no

73
00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,159
Speaker 1: evidence that water had carried them into the chamber, and

74
00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,800
Speaker 1: the fact that the bones had accumulated over time, the

75
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,200
Speaker 1: team were left with one startling conclusion the bodies had

76
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,120
Speaker 1: been deliberately placed there After death by other members of

77
00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:33,480
Speaker 1: the community. Are you always taking care of your family?

78
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:36,200
Speaker 1: Do you often take care of others and not yourself.

79
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,479
Speaker 1: Now it's time to take care of yourself, to make

80
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,400
Speaker 1: time for you you deserve it. Teledoc gives you access

81
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,039
Speaker 1: to a licensed therapist to help you get back to

82
00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,400
Speaker 1: feeling your best to feeling like yourself again. With teledoc,

83
00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,640
Speaker 1: you can speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video.

84
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,440
Speaker 1: Therapy appointments are available seven days a week from seven

85
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,240
Speaker 1: am to nine pm local time. If you feel overwhelmed

86
00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,840
Speaker 1: sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely,

87
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,159
Speaker 1: or you might be struggling with a personal or family issue,

88
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:14,880
Speaker 1: teledoc can help. Teledoc is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches,

89
00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,760
Speaker 1: so they make it easy to change counselors if needed.

90
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,880
Speaker 1: For free. Teledoc therapy is available through most insurance or employers.

91
00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,159
Speaker 1: Download the app or visit teledoc dot com forward slash

92
00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:33,839
Speaker 1: Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com

93
00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:43,000
Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Podcast. Though some have cautioned against the hypothesis,

94
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,240
Speaker 1: there is good evidence to suggest that the Rising Star

95
00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,600
Speaker 1: homeowner Leddy discovery is in effect the first ever known graveyard,

96
00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,640
Speaker 1: as Page Madison also noted in aon This is hugely

97
00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:02,000
Speaker 1: significant since mortuary rituals reveal, as Aison says, a capacity

98
00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,799
Speaker 1: to think symbolically, in other words, the capacity to understand

99
00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,600
Speaker 1: things in the abstract, and ultimately the capacity for imagination.

100
00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,520
Speaker 1: Assuming that our ancestors were operating at a similar level

101
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,880
Speaker 1: of sophistication at the time, it could also be that

102
00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:24,120
Speaker 1: this discovery marks the beginnings of our ability to tell stories,

103
00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,240
Speaker 1: a feat of cognitive gymnastics that many believe sets us

104
00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:33,360
Speaker 1: apart from other animals. With the emergence of our ability

105
00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,280
Speaker 1: to tell stories also comes the beginnings of our search

106
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,880
Speaker 1: for meaning and our endeavor to comprehend ourselves and the cosmos.

107
00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,000
Speaker 1: In turn, we find these stories and ideas that we

108
00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:51,480
Speaker 1: tell each other reflected in our mortuary rituals, and as such, paradoxically,

109
00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,080
Speaker 1: we reveal a great deal about our philosophies and ways

110
00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,080
Speaker 1: of life through our relationship with death and our rituals

111
00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:04,920
Speaker 1: for the dead. From ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs laden

112
00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,840
Speaker 1: with jewels and trinkets to take to the afterlife for

113
00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,960
Speaker 1: the select few to plague pits or the mass graves

114
00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,000
Speaker 1: of a wartime atrocity, to the notion of consecrated ground

115
00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,320
Speaker 1: or a so called pauper's grave. To eco friendly bio

116
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,680
Speaker 1: urns or the option to be blasted into space, to

117
00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,840
Speaker 1: the simple scattering of a loved one's ashes across a

118
00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:39,439
Speaker 1: favorite beach. There is much to discern about human life. Personally,

119
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,320
Speaker 1: I've never been particularly drawn to the great search for meaning,

120
00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,079
Speaker 1: and feel indifferent as to whether our existence means anything

121
00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,120
Speaker 1: or not. For me, if it has to mean anything,

122
00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:53,880
Speaker 1: it is the fact that we were here at all,

123
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,240
Speaker 1: that all of us, no matter for how short of

124
00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:03,160
Speaker 1: a time or whoever or whatever we were, existed. And

125
00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,320
Speaker 1: although on a personal level I have opinions about how

126
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,840
Speaker 1: we should or shouldn't live, on a cosmic level, I

127
00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,079
Speaker 1: don't believe there is such a thing as right or

128
00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,160
Speaker 1: wrong human behavior. All of it, from those actions and

129
00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,679
Speaker 1: thoughts we consider to be abhorrent and monstrous to that

130
00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:24,199
Speaker 1: which we might call saintly or good, is human, and

131
00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,680
Speaker 1: all of it tells the story of what it means

132
00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,000
Speaker 1: to be human. To be able to think in the

133
00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,320
Speaker 1: abstract gives us the ability to go a little further

134
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:39,559
Speaker 1: than simple reflexive primal tendencies. These also serve a purpose,

135
00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 1: of course. However, it is this abstract ability that caused

136
00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,920
Speaker 1: such consternation to the residence of the Newport subdivision in Texas,

137
00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,600
Speaker 1: and why the remains of the dead are never just

138
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:56,240
Speaker 1: flesh and bones to us. With Black Hope Semmetry being

139
00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,920
Speaker 1: a resting place for descendants of black slaves, what pain

140
00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,400
Speaker 1: the Newport residence more than anything was that they had

141
00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,800
Speaker 1: inadvertently become entangled in a lineage of injustice for a

142
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,200
Speaker 1: community who, not, even in death, were afforded the dignity

143
00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,800
Speaker 1: that so many others are granted. It is often written

144
00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,160
Speaker 1: that the Black Hope Cemetery was a forgotten cemetry. It

145
00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,640
Speaker 1: was not. It was remembered by the relatives and friends

146
00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,560
Speaker 1: of the people buried there, and by others who were

147
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,640
Speaker 1: local to the area before the housing development was built

148
00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:33,560
Speaker 1: over it. And you too now know it was there.

149
00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:39,439
Speaker 1: And though graves and headstones might be useful markers, regardless

150
00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,720
Speaker 1: of how well they or the remains within are maintained,

151
00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,680
Speaker 1: all of them will one day be lost to time.

152
00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,520
Speaker 1: All we really have, then, of the truth of our

153
00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:57,280
Speaker 1: existence are the stories we tell. I find the overuse

154
00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,240
Speaker 1: of the word storyteller a little tiresome. Individuals or brands

155
00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:05,080
Speaker 1: even like to label themselves as such, because in truth,

156
00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,760
Speaker 1: we are all storytellers, each of us carrying the story

157
00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,480
Speaker 1: of the human race and the story of all life

158
00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,480
Speaker 1: that we share this planet with as it hurtles through

159
00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,120
Speaker 1: space at almost half a million miles per hour about

160
00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,440
Speaker 1: the Milky Way. The only question is in so far

161
00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:27,240
Speaker 1: as we can influence how our story is told, If

162
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,480
Speaker 1: many years from now, it were one day to be

163
00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:34,480
Speaker 1: found and read by someone else, what would we want

164
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:41,200
Speaker 1: it to say? You've been listening to Unexplained Season four.

165
00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:48,840
Speaker 1: We will return in the spring. If you enjoy Unexplained

166
00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,959
Speaker 1: and would like to help support us, you can now

167
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,800
Speaker 1: do so via Patreon to receive access to add three episodes,

168
00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,120
Speaker 1: discount or merchandise, as well as brand new video and

169
00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,760
Speaker 1: audio content exclusive to pay two members. Just go to

170
00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,400
Speaker 1: patron dot com, forward slash Unexplained Pod to sign up,

171
00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,040
Speaker 1: or if you'd like to make a one time donation,

172
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,320
Speaker 1: you can go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward Slash support.

173
00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,520
Speaker 1: All donations, no matter how large or small, are greatly appreciated.

174
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,280
Speaker 1: Unexplained the book and audiobook featuring ten stories that have

175
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,280
Speaker 1: never before been covered on the show, is now available

176
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,400
Speaker 1: to buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble,

177
00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:33,720
Speaker 1: and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements of Unexplained, including

178
00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,839
Speaker 1: the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith.

179
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,600
Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts,

180
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:42,839
Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts

181
00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,520
Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.

182
00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,200
Speaker 1: Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like

183
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,640
Speaker 1: to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast

184
00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:56,520
Speaker 1: dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at

185
00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:08,640
Speaker 1: Facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast Now, it's time

186
00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,640
Speaker 1: to take care of yourself. To make time for you,

187
00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,040
Speaker 1: teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help

188
00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,960
Speaker 1: you get back to feeling your best. Speak to a

189
00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,440
Speaker 1: licensed therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am

190
00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,520
Speaker 1: to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc

191
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,920
Speaker 1: Therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download the

192
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:36,119
Speaker 1: app or visit teledoc dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast

193
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,560
Speaker 1: Today to get started. That's t e ladoc dot com,

194
00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:43,239
Speaker 1: slash Unexplained podcast