See <link> -- I don't read Mark Shea much these days, after his extreme indifference to the Russian invasion of Georgia, but this remains an excellent illustration of why relics are of great psychological interest, at least to anyone who follows a religion other than Protestantism.

So, they're just like curios or knick knacks, huh?

Sounds like Shea would be right at home with Tibetan Buddhism (my boldiing):

Tibetans use cups and bowls made of human skulls and flutes carved out of human thigh bones. Some ceremonies at Portala Palace in Lhasa incorporate hourglass-shaped drums fashioned from two skulls, and a container made from a silver-encrusted upside-down skull (the jaw bone serves as the container's lid). Skull drums are usually covered by leather. Sometimes they are covered with human skin. The bones belong to revered lamas and monks.