Smart News History & Archaeology

A black musician seen in Piero di Cosimo's Perseus Frees Andromeda, 1510-1515

How the Uffizi Gallery Is Highlighting Black Figures in Renaissance Art

Each Saturday, the Florentine museum will release a new educational video on TikTok and Facebook

The pair immediately knew their find was something special, as wood rarely survives in saltwater unless it is buried by sediment.

Cool Finds

Divers Find 16th-Century Shipwreck Off Coast of Northern Italy

The vessel may be the "Santo Spirito & Santa Maria di Loreto," which sank in the vicinity in 1579

The Federal University of Minas Gerais’ Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden houses 260,000 artifacts ranging from fossils to folk art.

Second Brazilian Museum Fire in Two Years Sparks Calls for Reform

Authorities are assessing the damage caused by a June 15 blaze at the Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden in Belo Horizonte

The Maya city of Tikal thrived for hundreds of years but was abandoned in the ninth century A.D.

New Research

Why Did the Maya Abandon the Ancient City of Tikal?

New research suggests mercury and toxic algae poisoned the settlement's reservoirs

A virtual version of Mount Vesuvius looms over the exhibition.

Paris Exhibition Recreates Pompeii's Final Hours

Those unable to visit the show in person can access a trove of online resources related to the immersive experience

The York Guildhall, which sits on the banks of the River Ouse in northeastern England, is currently undergoing a major renovation.

Renovations at Historic York Guildhall Reveal Human Remains, Roman Artifacts

Ongoing work at the 15th-century municipal building has yielded an array of archaeological finds

Between 70 and 80 percent of the individuals interred at the site were children.

Archaeologists Unearth 16th-Century Children's Cemetery in Poland

Some of the deceased were buried with coins in their mouths as payment for Charon, ferryman of the underworld

Researchers used these five replica clay pipes to "smoke" tobacco and other native plants.

Early Residents of the Pacific Northwest Smoked Smooth Sumac

Researchers used a new technique to detect the chemical fingerprints of specific plant species in a 1,400-year-old pipe's residue

This 1846 daguerreotype is likely the oldest surviving photograph of a Māori person.

Newly Discovered Portrait May Be Oldest Known Image of Māori Person

The photo depicts Hemi Pomara, who was kidnapped and "exhibited" by British colonialists in London during the 1840s

Facial reconstruction of a Scandinavian hunter-gatherer who was buried with a wooden stake at the base of his skull

Art Meets Science

See the Face of a Man Whose Skull Was Mounted on a Stake 8,000 Years Ago

A forensic artist used 3-D scans of the hunter-gatherer's cranium to envision what he may have looked like in life

The circular ovens may have been used to bake bricks or pottery.

Roman-Era Structures Found Near Sphinx-Lined Egyptian Avenue

Excavations at Kebbash Road revealed circular ovens, a mud-brick wall and a sandstone wall

More than 500 people guillotined during the French Revolution may have been buried in the walls of this 19th-century chapel.

Remains Discovered in Parisian Chapel May Belong to Guillotined Aristocrats

New research suggests the bodies of nearly 500 nobles beheaded during the Reign of Terror are buried in Chapelle Expiatoire

A new study presents evidence that a massive eruption in Alaska may have influenced the rise of the Roman Empire.

New Research

How an Alaskan Volcano Is Linked to the Decline of the Roman Republic

New research suggests Mount Okmok's eruption in 43 B.C. sparked extreme weather halfway across the world

An archival photo of the main street in the Frog's Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane, Australia

Archaeologists Unearth Trove of Artifacts From 19th-Century Australian Chinatown

Chinese immigrants created a community in the Frog's Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane

A Roman lead ingot recently unearthed in Wales

Cool Finds

Local Man Finds 2,000-Year-Old Roman Lead Ingot in Welsh Field

Rob Jones' discovery adds a tangible piece of evidence to the history of mining in Roman Britain

Louisa May Alcott wrote "Aunt Nellie's Diary" in 1849, almost 20 years prior to the publication of Little Women.

Early Short Story by Louisa May Alcott Published for the First Time

The "Little Women" author wrote "Aunt Nellie's Diary" in 1849, when she was 17 years old

A 1967 funeral program for Mrs. Julia Burton

New Digital Archive Explores 133 Years of African American Funeral Programs

The online resource offers a veritable treasure trove of information for historians and genealogists

Replica of a Norse Viking longhouse in Scotland's Shetland Islands. Archaeologists in Iceland have uncovered the remains of two ancient Viking longhouses that may have been among the island's very first settlements.

Cool Finds

Newly Excavated Viking Dwelling May Be Oldest Found in Iceland

Archaeologists say the settlement, which may have housed a Norse chieftain, dates to roughly 800 A.D.

The circle of submerged shafts likely acted as a boundary for a sacred area or precinct associated with the Durrington Walls henge.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Enormous Ring of Ancient Pits Near Stonehenge

The buried shafts may represent the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Great Britain

Debate over Beethoven's race sparked once again on Twitter last week. He is depicted here in a portrait by August Klober from 1818.

Was Beethoven Black? Probably Not, but These Unsung Composers Were

A music scholar examines the history of the decades-old theory, and what its permanence tells us about who is considered 'canon' in classical music

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