Transcript

Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

From Stuff You Should Know · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 11 min · 1,774 words · 27 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW", an episode of Stuff You Should Know published December 11, 2025 (11 min, about 1,774 words). It mentions 20 people, works and ideas, including Adakama skeleton, Chuck Bryant, Steven M. Greer, Gary Nolan, Rammon Navia Assorio.

What this episode is about

The Atacama skeleton, discovered in 2003 in the arid Atacama Desert of northern Chile, is a small, uniquely shaped skeleton measuring about 6 inches long, which has sparked various theories regarding its origins, from alien speculation to a non-human primate classification. Its preservation, including desiccated flesh, is attributed to the desert's extreme dryness, while the skeleton's features and the historical context of the abandoned mining town where it was found contribute to the intrigue surrounding its story

Key takeaways

  • The Adakama skeleton: a tragic blend of preservation, superstition, and scientific sleuthing in Chile's arid landscape.
  • Curiosity piqued, but the truth hurts—this 'alien' was a stillborn baby girl, not a cosmic enigma.
  • Chilean solar radiation: the ultimate archaeological time machine, mummifying secrets right under our noses since the 1930s.
  • Treasure hunting ethics: More than just digging; it’s the fine line between discovery and desecration.
  • From UFO hunter to DNA decorator—sometimes even enthusiasts need real science to bail them out of their fantasies.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 3:00: mummification, Adakama Desert, Lenoria, Adakama skeleton
  2. – 6:00: DNA, UFO, The Telepathy Tapes, Gary Nolan
  3. – 9:00: Genetic mutation, Chile, Chilean Association of Archaeologists, Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology
  4. – 10:54: Chuck Bryant, Gary Nolan, Steven M. Greer

Notable quotes from "Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"

  • That's right. And this is the story of the saddest skeleton.
    about Adakama skeleton · at
  • Attached to it in some places too, including the face. And the reason why is because like I said, it came from the Adakama Desert in northern Chile. That's one of the driest…
    about Adakama Desert · at
  • So it's not a big surprise that Navia Osorio met up with a guy named Steven M. Greer who is a very prominent eupfologist. I think he must have come up in our area 51 episode because I recognize his name. But he is very.
    about Steven M. Greer · at
  • Yeah. And I guess the serious got publicized enough that a guy named Gary Nolan, who's a microbiologist, he reached out to Stephen Greer and said, Hey I can help you run a genomic test on this thing for your movie.
    about Gary Nolan · at
  • Has such an unusual appearance is because they attribute it to the really like disproportionate number of genetic mutations she has.
    about Genetic mutation · at
  • Sort of outrage after they found this out when that paper was published in 2018 that the Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology and the Chilean Association of…
    about Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Chuck Bryant — Person · Co-host · 2 mentions · first at
    He co-narrates the episode, reacting to claims and emphasizing the ethical and emotional dimensions.
    Hey and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here sitting in for G for Dave. This is short stuff which is off to a bad start already.
  • Steven M. Greer — Person · Referenced advocate / disputed voice · 2 mentions · first at
    He is described as a prominent UFO figure who pushed to sample the remains for a documentary and later disputed the human-DNA conclusion.
  • Gary Nolan — Person · Referenced scientist / genomic tester · 2 mentions · first at
    He is presented as the microbiologist who helped run genomic testing that concluded the DNA was modern, high-quality, and human, later acknowledging ethical issues.
  • Rammon Navia Assorio — Person · Owner/collector of remains (referenced) · 1 mention · first at
    He purchased the skeleton, is described as leading a UFO-enthusiast organization, and is said to still possess the remains in Spain despite repatriation calls.
    Spanish business owner and a just collector of oddities and also it just so happens a president of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies, which is a UFO enthusiast organization.
  • Oscar Munoz — Person · Referenced discoverer/treasure hunter · 1 mention · first at
    He is credited with bringing the skeleton to public attention and is accused by others of unethical/illegal excavation rather than simply finding it.
    Yeah. Most other people say he really dug this thing up from a burial site. So that's sad thing number one. And no, no, number one, as you're not just supposed to do that as a treasure hunter. That's.

Books & papers

  • Genome Research — Book · Publication venue · 1 mention · first at
    The journal is cited as the place where the 2018 paper reporting human DNA and mutation findings was published.
    Alien being. they published this research in March of 2018 in the journal Genome Research. And what they found is, the second and probably most sad thing is that it was probably a little baby girl who died in the womb.
  • The Telepathy Tapes — Book · Referenced media project (book tie-in) · 2 mentions · first at
    It is mentioned as a book connected to the documentary effort used to publicize and motivate DNA testing of the skeleton.
    Said, hey, I got a plan here. Let's get this let's ext extract some DNA, have it examined for this documentary called Sirius, s i r i s.

Companies & orgs

  • Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies — Company · Referenced organization (UFO enthusiast) · 1 mention · first at
    It is described as the UFO-enthusiast organization led by Rammon Navia Assorio, linking the skeleton to ufology networks.
    Spanish business owner and a just collector of oddities and also it just so happens a president of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies, which is a UFO enthusiast organization.
  • Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology — Company · Ethics critic / professional body · 1 mention · first at
    The society publicly condemned the study as unethical and supported repatriation of the remains.
  • Chilean Association of Archaeologists — Company · Ethics critic / professional body · 1 mention · first at
    The association joined condemnation of the research and emphasized Chilean legal requirements for excavation and handling remains.
    Out when that paper was published in 2018 that the Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology and the Chilean Association of Archaeologists both came out and were This was a…

Concepts & topics

  • Adakama skeleton — Concept · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    The episode centers on the discovery, analysis, and ethical controversy around the tiny, unusually shaped skeleton found in northern Chile and popularly framed as an 'alien' before DNA testing indicated it was human.
  • DNA — Concept · Key evidence type · 2 mentions · first at
    DNA extraction and genomic testing are the decisive evidence used to argue the remains are human rather than alien.
    Gotten in touch with Navaria Asorio and said, hey, I got a plan here. Let's get this let's ext extract some DNA, have it examined for this documentary called Sirius, s i r i s.
  • Genetic mutation — Concept · Scientific explanation · 2 mentions · first at
    Multiple mutations are offered as the explanation for the skeleton’s unusual skull/rib features and appearance.
  • UFO — Concept · Framing / public misinterpretation · 2 mentions · first at
    The skeleton’s unusual morphology triggered UFO/alien claims, which the episode contrasts with genetic and forensic explanations.
    So happens a president of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies, which is a UFO enthusiast organization.
  • mummification — Concept · Preservation mechanism · 3 mentions · first at
    The episode explains how the Atacama’s dryness and local cultural practices could preserve remains with tissue attached.
    Adakama Desert in northern Chile. That's one of the driest non-polar places on Earth. and it can mummify human remains pretty easily. It's between the Chilean co coastal…
  • exobiology — Concept · Ufology-adjacent framing · 1 mention · first at
    Exobiology is referenced via the named institute, reflecting how the skeleton was routed through alien-life interest networks.
    Spanish business owner and a just collector of oddities and also it just so happens a president of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies, which is a UFO enthusiast organization.
  • paleontology — Concept · Legal/disciplinary context · 1 mention
    It appears in the cited Chilean legal framework restricting unauthorized excavations, underscoring the episode’s ethics theme.
    Archaeological, anthropological, or paleontological excavations.

Places & events

  • Chile — Place · Primary setting / jurisdiction · 2 mentions · first at
    The remains were found in northern Chile, and Chilean law and professional societies are central to the ethical and legal critique and repatriation demands.
    The skeleton would get so much attention. It's known as the Adakama skeleton. and it was found in the desert of northern Chile, Adakama desert in an abandoned town called Loria back in 2003.
  • Adakama Desert — Place · Discovery location / preservation explanation · 2 mentions · first at
    The desert's extreme dryness is used to explain why tissue remained and why natural mummification/preservation was plausible.
  • Lenoria — Place · Alleged find site · 4 mentions · first at
    The abandoned mining town is where the skeleton was reportedly found, and its abandonment date is used to question claims about how recently the child may have died.
    Skeleton. and it was found in the desert of northern Chile, Adakama desert in an abandoned town called Loria back in 2003.

Full transcript with timestamps

Hey and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here sitting in for G for Dave. This is short stuff which is off to a bad start already.

That's right. And this is the story of the saddest skeleton. It is really sad. Um there's like five different reasons it's sad, but the you can kind of understand a little bit why the skeleton would get so much attention. It's known as the Adakama skeleton. Um, and it was found in the desert of northern Chile, Adakama desert in an abandoned town called Loria back in 2003. That's right. Uh, it's little uh very small about 6 in in length uh or 15 cm and it has a a very interesting shape to the skull. Very conically shaped and also has only 10 pairs of ribs uh wherein we usually have 12 pairs. And so, of course, right away, uh, there were UFO, uh, people saying, "It's an alien. It's got to be a tiny little alien.

There's no other explanation." Yeah. Look at that thing. Uh, other people said, "Hey, not so fast. Looks more like a non-human primate. Maybe a shape shifter. Uh, we don't know from from what weird place this thing came from. Um, but that's just the beginning of the story. That's all. I don't want to ruin anything just yet.

Yeah. The um the skeleton also is not fully skeletonized. Like there's desiccated flesh attached to tissue attached to it in some places too, including the face. And the reason why is because like I said, it came from the Adakama Desert in northern Chile. That's one of the driest non-polar places on Earth. Um and it can mummify human remains pretty easily. It's between the Chilean co coastal mountain range and the Andes. And the town of Lenoria, which is situated in the desert, was once a mining town. Um, a nitrate mining town. I think salt peter, actually.

Yeah, that's right. God, you love saying salt peter. Yeah. Why are you going to say anything else when you can say salt peter?

Agreed. Uh, it's used as a fertilizer a lot. So, they abandoned the town in 1930s. um I guess after they had mined up all that stuff. Um so it's you know long way of saying it's a very um good place to preserve skeletons there and just naturally but not only that but the ancient churro culture there had a tradition of mummifying bodies uh on purpose through their embalming process. So an even longer way of saying that finding something out there it is it is not unlikely that it would be pretty well preserved. Yeah. And not not the least of which because of the solar radiation there. Apparently it's higher than anywhere on Earth. Not a lot of water. It's very hot in the day, very cold at night. It's um it's just it's like just a perfect place to to make a mummy. And so in 2003, the world first heard of the Adacama skeleton thanks to a guy named Oscar Munoz, who's a treasure hunter, who said that he went

to Lenoria and found just sitting on a shelf in one of the buildings the Adacama skeleton. And most other people say, "Oh, we don't think that you just found this thing on a shelf."

Yeah. Most other people say he really dug this thing up from a burial site. So that's sad thing number one. And no, no, number one, as you're not just supposed to do that as a treasure hunter. That's not a treasure.

Sure. Um later on that skeleton was sold to a guy named Rammon Navia Assorio. He was a Spanish business owner and a just collector of oddities and also it just so happens a president of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies, which is a UFO enthusiast organization.

Right. And so um eufologists have like a fairly smallish community uh of people who will actually travel to conferences. So uh it's not a big surprise that Navia Osorio um met up with a guy named Steven M. Greer who is a very prominent eupfologist. I think he must have come up in our area 51 episode because I I recognize his name. But um he is uh very outspoken about trying to get the US government to um disclose all of the information they surely have on aliens, their awareness of aliens, what really crashed in Roswell, all of that stuff.

And when Greer found out that Navia Osorio had the Otakama skeleton, he was like, "We have to figure out what this thing is. Can I take a tissue sample?"

That's right. Uh and that feels like a great place for a break. What a cliffhanger.

Yeah. We'll be right back. All right. So, Steven Greer has uh gotten in touch with Navaria Asorio and said, "Uh, hey, I got a plan here. Let's get um this uh let's ext extract some DNA, have it examined for this documentary called Sirius, s i r i s.

Uh it's inspired out of one of my books. Um we can figure out what this thing is like, you know, hopefully um full boore and we can know for sure.

Yeah. And I guess um the serious got publicized enough that a guy named Gary Nolan, who's a microbiologist, he reached out to Stephen Greer and said, "Hey um I can help you run a genomic test on this thing um for your movie serious. Let's do this." And Steven Greer said, "Great. Let's I'm sure that was quite unexpected."

Yeah. And another thing that was unexpected was they found that the DNA was uh quote modern, abundant, and high quality. and is human. There's no doubt about it. So, obviously, this was not an alien being. Uh they published this research in March of 2018 in the journal Genome Research. And what they found uh is, you know, the second and probably most sad thing is that it was probably a a little baby girl who died in the womb.

Yeah. That she was almost certainly still born. if she was alive when she was born, she would not have lived very long. And um they like if you haven't seen the Otakama skeleton, now's probably a good time to go look up a picture of her. Um but the reason she has such an unusual appearance uh is because they attribute it to the really like disproportionate number of genetic mutations she has. um you know just one single genetic mutation can very easily alter a person's appearance. She had multiple uh genetic mutations and they have no idea why but they're like well this explains basically everything.

Yeah. And uh also seemed like it was um you know pretty sure that it's a preterm birth. She's very well preserved. Uh so they're pretty sure that she's under 500 years old and that's what I meant by fairly recent. But they said they don't know like she could have died in the past like 30 or 40 years and if that's true then her parents might potentially still be around and we have this situation where there could be parents and even if there aren't we have snatched this uh skeleton from a tomb of this little girl who died prematurely because of uh uh you know issues like birth issues and it's like the saddest thing in the world

and not only that people around the world are saying like alien, look at this, obviously an alien.

Yeah, it's like no, these are actually um congenital genetic issues, not alien. So, yeah, you put all this stuff together, you just hope that the family is not aware of this. The thing that stood out to me though, Chuck, if she died within, say, 40 years, that would put her in the what, the 80s, the 70s, and the um the town where she was found allegedly, Lenoria, was abandoned in the 30s. So, I'm not sure what she would be doing there, but I did see in a lot of different places they're they're like, "She could have died quite recently,

right?" Yeah. Uh, well, it was such a sort of outrage after they found this out uh when that paper was published in 2018 that the Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology and the Chilean Association of Archaeologists both came out and were like, "This was a really unethical study. Uh, shouldn't have done it." Uh, it's against the law. First of all, under Chilean law, it's illegal to carry out uh archaeological, anthropological, or paleontological excavations without getting authorization from the count uh Council of National Monuments, which wasn't done.

That's a big one. They're also like, "By the way, give us our um remains back. Let's repatriate her." And then a lot of um focus came on to Gary Nolan and his um group for even running this test in the first place. And um they they essentially understood. They're like, you know, you're right. This this whole this whole jam is quite unethical. At least in our defense, we did not handle the body. We've never seen the body in person. We got a 1 millimeter a cubic millimeter um piece of bone to use as the sample. So, at least there's that.

And yes, we believe that that this baby's remain repatriated back to Chile. So I I don't I don't I don't know if they got all the heat off of them, but at the very least they were willing to acknowledge the ethical lapse on their part, for sure.

Yeah, I think that was a fairly standup thing to do. But um the body is not back in Chile. It's still in the possession of Raone Navia Oorio in Spain.

Oh, really? Yeah, he's got it still. I don't know that he's making any moves to give it back. And also I saw Steven Greer disputes the findings that it was um human. You got anything else?

Just a scoff if I've ever heard one. Yeah. Um all right. Love you, Chuck. Short stuff's out.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"?

Josh Clark (Host), Chuck Bryant (Host), Steven M. Greer (Guest), Gary Nolan (Guest), Oscar Munoz (Guest), Rammon Navia Osorio (Guest).

What is "Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW" about?

The Atacama skeleton, discovered in 2003 in the arid Atacama Desert of northern Chile, is a small, uniquely shaped skeleton measuring about 6 inches long, which has sparked various theories regarding its origins, from alien speculation to a non-human primate classification. Its preservation, including desiccated flesh, is attributed to the desert's extreme dryness, while the skeleton's features…

What is mentioned in this Stuff You Should Know episode?

20 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Adakama skeleton, Chuck Bryant, Steven M. Greer, Gary Nolan, Rammon Navia Assorio, Chile. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Short Stuff: Atacama Skeleton | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW"?

The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 1,774 words in 27 timestamped sections.

More from Stuff You Should Know

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.