Expedition Week

Last Expedition Week, author and explorer Piers Gibbon headed deep into the Amazon jungle to locate tribes that practiced headshrinking. In his newest adventure, Gibbon looks at one of mankinds ultimate taboos: cannibalism. He'll trek into the rain forest of Papua New Guinea to find tribe members who ate human flesh. Gibbon meets with members of the once-feared Biami tribe and witnesses their ritual techniques.

Across the Himalayas are stories of the yeti, or abominable snowman. Half man, half ape, the yeti is said to roam only the most remote peaks, where people rarely venture. Now, veteran explorer and climber Gerry Moffatt sets out to find proof in a hunt that will test his stamina. As conventional scientific theories challenge ancient beliefs and credible witnesses, he works to separate fact from fiction and find hard evidence that the legend is real.

The Templars were considered the pope's private army, protecting Jerusalem for more than 50 years. But their legacy came to a sudden end casting them from the heights of wealth and power to the dark corners of history. Now, on the ruins of a 12th century castle near the border between what are now Israel and Syria, a team of archaeologists peel away centuries of sediment, uncovering signs of a six-day siege that could have led to the Templars' demise.

In spring 2010, the nearly unpronounceable volcano Eyjafjallajkull spewed ash clouds across Europe, bringing international air traffic to a standstill. Now, for the first time ever, a team of explorers descend into the nearby Thrinukagigur volcano crater - the only place on earth where it is possible to enter an old magma chamber. Inside the crater, the team finds crucial evidence revealing the inner workings of Icelandic volcanoes.

A lost piece of American history may have been uncovered deep in the sea a shipwreck thought to have belonged to a fleet of American privateers. In the late 18th century, the Irish Sea was a cauldron of kidnapping, thievery and unrepentant skullduggery. Governments, including the nascent U.S., hired sea raiders, or privateers, to pillage and steal from merchant vessels. Is it possible that this ship was on a mission from Benjamin Franklin?

History books traditionally depict the pre-Columbus Americas as a pristine wilderness where small native villages lived in harmony with nature. But scientific evidence tells a very different story: When Columbus stepped ashore in 1492, millions of people were already living there. America wasn't exactly a "New World," but a very old one whose inhabitants had built a vast infrastructure of cities, orchards, canals and causeways

istory books traditionally depict the pre-Columbus Americas as a pristine wilderness where small native villages lived in harmony with nature. But scientific evidence tells a very different story: When Columbus stepped ashore in 1492, millions of people were already living there. America wasn't exactly a "New World," but a very old one whose inhabitants had built a vast infrastructure of cities, orchards, canals and causeways

Live Giant Squid hauled to the surface in Japan

How does one begin to locate, without a shovel or directions, the ancient, buried tomb of the man who ruled one of the largest empires ever known? The location of Genghis Khan's tomb is an archaeological puzzle that has stumped researchers, historians, and archaeologists for the last millennium. According to legend, anyone who witnessed the funeral procession was killed on the spot and 10,000 horses trampled the ground where he was buried to ensure it was never found. Now, National Geographic emerging explorer Albert Lin sets off on the expedition of a lifetime to find this secret burial site. Don't miss the Forbidden Tomb of Genghis Khan as National Geographic Channel follows Lin on his quest to solve this 800-year old mystery.