Artifacts

Various types of North and South American fluted points

Ancient Artisans in Arabia, the Americas Invented Same Technology Independently

New research suggests stone fluting served different purposes in the two regions

A box of offerings included a gold band reminiscent of a miniature bracelet and a llama or alpaca figurine made of the shell of a rare mollusk.

Inca Llama Carving Recovered From Depths of Lake Titicaca

The well-preserved artifact was likely used in a sacred ritual

Susie and Paul Sensmeier of Christiansburg, Virginia, got front row seats to the arrival of the first drone-shipped home delivery in the fall of 2019.

This Drone Made the First Home Delivery in the United States

Wing’s tether-toting drone delivered a winter vest to a retiree in Virginia and now its headed to the Air and Space Museum

A Dutch art dealer realized the vase's significance after appraising an elderly European woman's collection.

Rare Chinese Vase Found in Pet-Filled Home Sells for $9 Million

The 18th-century artifact was made in a style specific to the Qianlong dynasty

Bald's Leechbook, a tenth-century medical text that contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments

This Medieval Potion Kills Stubborn Bacteria

"Bald’s eyesalve" is effective against numerous strains of bacteria—and could help treat diabetic foot and leg ulcers

This "grain mummy" honors the Egyptian god Osiris.

CT Scans Reveal Miniature Mummies' Surprising Contents

One appears to hold the skeleton of a bird, while the other contains a tightly packed lump of grain and mud

A 14,000-year-old coprolite, a dried out piece of human feces

14,000-Year-Old Fossilized Poop Among Oldest Traces of Humans in North America

Researchers recently confirmed that the ancient dung was indeed produced by humans, and not by animals

Curators at the Science and Industry Museum are unsure what purpose this object, crudely cast with a copper-based alloy, served.

Can You Help Identify This Museum's Mystery Artifacts?

A Manchester-based science institution has a backlog of unusual objects in need of classification

Artifacts found at the site include jewelry from Asia (left) and an inscribed weight possibly imported from Ireland.

Archaeology Student Finds Viking Trading Post in Norway

Artifacts unearthed at the site include jewelry, coins and pieces of silver

In Herefordshire, a resident encountered this pair of post-medieval snake-shaped belt or strap hooks.

See Archaeological Treasures Unearthed by U.K. Residents During Lockdown

Finds include a Neolithic arrowhead, a snake-shaped belt hook and shards of Roman pottery

The ʻahu ʻula and mahiole of Kalaniʻōpuʻu on display in the Bishop Museum

Hawaiian Chief's Cloak and Helmet Repatriated After 241 Years

A New Zealand museum initially returned the artifacts, given to Captain James Cook in 1779, on a long-term loan in 2016

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

A display in Paris' Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, which houses hundreds of thousands of artifacts from non-European cultures

Activists Try to Remove African Artifact From Paris Museum

Protesters demanding the repatriation of looted objects seized a funeral pole on view at the Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac

An animal care staff member at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium feeds some Magellanic penguins.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Maintaining Tourist Sites During COVID-19

Despite closures, essential workers are the ones holding down the fort at these popular travel destinations

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero displays historical objects recovered from the Arlington National Cemetery time capsule.

Arlington National Cemetery Opens Its 105-Year-Old Time Capsule

The trove of artifacts, hidden in a cornerstone in 1915, is now available to explore online

Excavations at the Bacho Kiro Cave in Bulgaria uncovered ancient human bones along with stone tools, animal bones, bone tools and pendants.

Humans and Neanderthals May Have Overlapped in Europe Longer Than Previously Thought

Remains found in a Bulgarian cave are between 44,000 and 46,000 years old, making them the oldest confirmed Homo sapiens discovered in Europe

A large sandstone turtle unearthed at last week at the Angkor Wat temple complex

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Stone Turtle in Drained Angkor Reservoir

The reservoir houses the remnants of a centuries-old temple now undergoing excavation

A gold Tumaco mask found among gold figurines and ancient jewelry recovered at Madrid's Barajas airport

Authorities Recover 19,000 Artifacts in International Antiquities Trafficking Sting

Items recovered include fossils, paintings, ancient coins, ceramics and jewelry

Peale’s mastodon returns to the U.S. as part of this year's upcoming exhibition “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The Story of Charles Willson Peale’s Massive Mastodon

When a European intellectual snubbed the U.S., the well-known artist excavated the giant fossil as evidence of the new Republic’s strength and power

Each museum and research facility under the Smithsonian umbrella is reckoning with COVID in its own way. But they are also collaborating on both strategy and logistics.

How Smithsonian Curators Are Rising to the Challenge of COVID-19

In a nation under quarantine, chronicling a crisis demands careful strategy

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