Smart News History & Archaeology

Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre

Exploring Paul Revere’s Legacy Beyond His Famed Midnight Ride

Before becoming an American legend, the Revolutionary War hero was best known as a skilled artisan, activist and entrepreneur

A New Monopoly Celebrates Women. But What About the Game’s Own Overlooked Inventor?

At the turn of the 20th century, Lizzie Magie created the Landowner’s Game, which sought to teach players about the injustices of wealth concentration

Archaeologists found traces of a milk protein in seven prehistoric Britons' calcified dental plaque

Cool Finds

Prehistoric Farmers' Teeth Show Humans Were Drinking Animal Milk 6,000 Years Ago

A new study suggests Neolithic Britons processed raw milk to reduce its lactose content

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew revealed a trove of 16 Civil War cannonballs (seen here) at the same beach where the latest specimens were found

Cool Finds

Hurricane Dorian Unearths Civil War Cannonballs at South Carolina Beach

At first, the couple who discovered the pair of cannonballs thought they'd simply stumbled upon a rock

New Research

Unique Salt Coating Helped Preserve 25-Foot-Long Dead Sea Scroll

Analysis shows that the unique processing of the Temple Scroll's parchment kept it intact

A local culture association has urged the government to move the rocks to a permanently dry location

Drought Reveals Dolmen of Guadalperal, Popularly Dubbed ‘Spanish Stonehenge’

Construction of a dam and reservoir in 1963 flooded the archaeological site, submerging the megalith monument and hiding it from view

Diet Eman

Diet Eman, the Dutch Resistance Fighter Who Helped Jews Escape the Nazis, Has Died at 99

Eman was haunted by the horrors she had seen to the end of her life. 'It really breaks your heart,' she once said

Cool Finds

Artifacts from the Final Battle of the English Civil War Uncovered During Road Project

In 1651, Parliamentary forces defeated Royalist troops, forcing Charles II into exile

Rock art in Vallegrande in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Wildfires Are Destroying Bolivia's Rock Art

Blazes set by farmers hoping to clear land for agriculture pose a threat to archaeological sites across the South American country

Kimberly Teehee photographed in 2010.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Kimberly Teehee Will Be the Cherokee Nation's First Delegate to Congress

The nomination, promised in an 1835 treaty, is still pending as of July 2020

Cool Finds

Unknown John Locke Manuscript Found at a College in Maryland

Written well before the philosopher wrote his seminal treatise on the subject, the text discusses religious tolerance

Dishes and bottles found at the site in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.

Cool Finds

Hidden Japanese Settlement Found in Forests of British Columbia

More than 1,000 items have been unearthed there, among them rice bowls, sake bottles and Japanese ceramics

Trending Today

Brazil's National Museum Hopes to Partially Reopen in 2022

It's been a year since a fire destroyed more than half of the 20 million artifacts held in the museum's collections

A digital reconstruction of Lilias Adie's face

Wanted: The Missing Bones of a Scottish 'Witch'

Officials in Fife have put out a call for the remains of Lilias Adie, who died in prison in the early 1700s after being accused of witchcraft

The dig site at Cooper's Ferry.

Cool Finds

Idaho Site Shows Humans Were in North America 16,000 Years Ago

The site at Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River is more evidence humans first traveled along the coast, not via an ice-free corridor

The coins are currently being analyzed by experts at the British Museum

Cool Finds

Medieval Coin Hoard Offers Evidence of Early Tax Evasion

Metal detector enthusiasts in England unearthed a trove of 2,528 coins while searching in Somerset

Art installation above the Brandenburg Gate

Thirty Years After Fall of Berlin Wall, a Citywide Celebration

A week-long arts festival will feature concerts, immersive exhibitions, art installations, panel discussions and more

New Research

The Ancient Greeks Used Machines to Lift Stones 150 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

An examination of grooves on blocks of stone from early temples suggest they were lifted and then levered into place using a frame

Aaron Burr (left) and his son, abolitionist John Pierre Burr (right)

155 Years After His Death, Abolitionist John Pierre Burr's Epitaph Updated to Include His Father, Aaron Burr

Descendant Sherri Burr's research shows that the vice president had children with Mary Emmons, a servant in his household

Burning birch bark to produce sticky tar.

New Research

Making Neanderthal Birch Tar Isn't as Complex as Thought

But even if Neanderthals were using a simpler method to produce the sticky resin, their use of it still suggests a level of planning and cognitive ability

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