Cultural Preservation

Michael Twitty, a culinary historian and living-history interpreter at the Stagville Plantation in Durham, North Carolina.

Food Historian Reckons With the Black Roots of Southern Food

In his new book, Michael Twitty shares the contributions that enslaved African-Americans and their descendants have made to southern cuisine

This island has been a boy's club for hundreds of years.

This Island Can Only Be Visited by Men

Okinoshima is officially an Unesco world heritage site—but tradition bans women from its shores

Mount Aragats in Aragatsotn, Armenia.

Why This Composer Made Melodies Out of Mountainsides

This forgotten Armenian musicologist literally drew the landscapes into his folksong scores

French American Music and Dance, 1983

After 50 Years of Song, Dance, Food, Even Hog Calling, at the Folklife Festival, Is It Still Worthwhile?

Recognizing traditional culture in the information age is ever more important argues the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Linguist and cultural preservationist Daryl Baldwin was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

How to Resurrect a Lost Language

Piecing together the language of the Miami tribe, linguists Daryl Baldwin and David Costa are creating a new generation of speakers

This really old statue has a surprisingly modern tale to tell.

This 3,500-Year-Old Statue of a Syrian Refugee Remains One of Archaeology’s Most Important Finds

King Idrimi is getting digitized and his autobiography is as relevant as ever

Heritage scientist Cecilia Bembibre captures the smell of a 18th-century bible at Knole House.

The Quest to Better Describe the Scent of Old Books

Describing a unique smell just got easier thanks to a pair of olfactory detectives

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault. A new vault will protect the world's books, archives and documents on long-lasting film

A Second Doomsday Vault—This One to to Preserve Data—Is Opening in Svalbard

Known as the Arctic World Archive, it will store copies of books, archives and documents on special film

ISIS destroyed the Temple of Baalshamin in Syria in 2015.

New Fund Pledges to Protect Cultural Heritage from War and Terror

Nations and philanthropists join together to safeguard one another’s priceless treasures

A Roman amphitheater in Bosra, Syria. Bosra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been damaged by civil war.

Scientists Shoot Stones to Study War's Impact on Heritage Sites

The bullets caused hidden networks of fractures beneath the stones' surfaces

This Roman road is part of a newly opened McDonalds.

New McDonalds Has a Cool Design Element: an Ancient Roman Road

Have a bit of history with that Happy Meal

Prayer wheels are just one of the sounds preserved and remixed in a new project.

Listen to the Sounds of Sacred Spaces Around the World

A new project documents, then remixes, religious and spiritual sounds

Dachau's gate had a chilling message for its inmates.

Stolen ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ Gate Returns to Dachau

The identity of the thieves remains a mystery

Eight Secrets of the Taj Mahal

One of the world's greatest memorials to love remains a place of mystery

The smooching couple in the center left gave the bakery its nickname.

How a Pompeiian Bakery Became This Year's Hot Date Destination

The romance never dies at the House of the Chaste Lovers

Asli Saghatelyan stands next to her father-in-law’s 240-gallon karas, a clay vessel traditionally used in Armenia, until recently, for storing and fermenting homemade wine.

Unearthing Armenia’s Giant, Ancient Earthenware

These 240-gallon clay karases, crucial to the early development of winemaking, once held enormous value

A bicyclist rides by the destroyed old mosque and tomb of Nabi Jerjis, also known as Saint George, in central Mosul in July 2014.

Why We Need to Fight to Save Mosul’s Cultural Heritage

As the battle to save Iraq from ISIS continues, Smithsonian experts are helping local people preserve their history

Chef Margarita Carrillo Arronte on Why Mexican Cuisine Is a UNESCO Treasure

Meet the woman dedicated to preserving traditional Mexican cuisine

The National Mall as seen in 2010

The National Park Service Warns Inauguration-Goers to Keep Off Its Lawn

The National Mall finally recovered from President Obama's first inauguration, and rangers want to keep it that way

Central High School, where school integration battles of the Civil Rights Movement played out, is among 39 sites and historical projects to get National Park Service grants.

New Grants Give Out Millions to Preserve African-American History

A $7.5 million grant program will fund 39 projects in over 20 states

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