Smithsonian Magazine: April 2011
Features
Sifting Sacred Ground
As Israeli archaeologists recover artifacts from the Temple Mount—a site revered by three religious faiths—ancient history inflames modern-day political tensions
By Joshua Hammer
Something New Under the Sun
Scientists are probing deep beneath the surface of our nearest star to calculate its profound effects on Earth
By Robert Irion
Living on the Edge
Rare cranes have flourished in the world's unlikeliest sanctuary, the heavily mined demilitarized zone between North and South Korea
By Eric Wagner
The Painting in the Cellar
He wasn't searching for a lost masterpiece, but when the curator came across a damaged canvas in a Yale University storeroom, it threw scholars into a tizzy
By Jamie Katz
Velázquez: Embodiment of a Golden Age
The magic of Velázquez has influenced artists from his contemporaries to Manet and Picasso
By Jamie Katz
The Lure of Capri
Since antiquity the Italian island's natural beauty has drawn visitors—from emperors to bohemians, and lately, day-trippers
By Tony Perrottet
Opening Salvo
How would the United States resolve the clash between its founding ideals and slavery? The explosive answer came on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Departments
Indelible Images
Spokes and Splinters
Photographer A.F. Van Order captured the daredevil days of early motorcycle racing
By David Schonauer
My Kind of Town
Second Acts
The author finds signs of renewal in his oft-maligned hometown
By Charles Michener
Wild Things
Wild Things: Mongooses, Bladderworts and More...
Fairy-wrens, wasps, and a nearly 3,000 year old big toe
By T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Laura Helmuth, Jesse Rhodes and Sarah Zielinski
Around the Mall
Attack of the Giant Pythons
Famed bird sleuth eyes smelly globs to I.D. Sunshine State victims
By Arcynta Ali Childs
The Object at Hand
Lincoln's Loss
The first Union officer killed in the Civil War was a friend of the president's
By Owen Edwards
The Last Page
Turn on, Log in, Wise up
If the internet is dumbing us down, how come I've never felt smarter?
By Donald Morrison
