Ancient Mysteries: Dreamtime of the Aborigines

As one of the oldest societies on Earth, the Aboriginal culture is regarded by many as a limitless source of human wisdom. Curiously, its traditions are not written but oral - and may stretch back around 100,000 years, according to some anthropologists. At the heart of it all is a concept called the "Dreamtime" - a plane of existence where past, present and future become one entity. Many claim that the Dreamtime can also impart to Aborigines unusual, otherworldly powers that include performing surgery sans entering the body, bringing death to enemies, and granting fertility to a land in dire need of it. This episode of A&E's Ancient Mysteries series investigates many of these beliefs, with a combination of on-location footage of Aboriginal life, incisive interviews and on-camera evidence. Leonard Nimoy (In Search Of. . .) narrates.