Cultural Preservation

A red pigment reference from the Forbes Pigment Collection helped prove that a supposed Jackson Pollock painting was a fake.

This Could Be the World’s Most Colorful Library

Harvard’s Forbes Pigment Collection preserves some of history’s most precious colors—and helps conserve the world’s greatest art

This 12,000-year-old city could soon be inundated thanks to a hydroelectric dam.

These Are Europe’s Eight Most Endangered Cultural Landmarks

Unless things change, these historic sites could disappear from the map forever

On a remote plateau, researchers reveal a royal capital whose splendors prefigure the glories of the Angkor complex.

The Lost City of Cambodia

Deep in the jungles of southeast Asia, archaeologists have rediscovered the remains of an invisible kingdom that may have been the template for Angkor Wat

Wacky Victorian women play behind a clothing screen, ca. 1900.

Researchers Seek Silly Sherlocks to Dig up Victorian-Era Jokes

Joke detectives are using the British Library to uncover what made Victorians chuckle

Italy Thinks Its 'Za Should Be a United Nations Cultural Treasure

Italy wants its Neapolitan pizza to be added to Unesco's cultural heritage list

Here’s Why French People Are Getting Riled Up About the Circumflex

Little accent, big debate

Virtual reality headsets at the 2015 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam allow visitors to view digital reconstructions of artifacts destroyed by ISIS.

The Heroic Effort to Digitally Reconstruct Lost Monuments

Scholars create a virtual archive of antiquities destroyed by extremists in Syria and Iraq

Tropical hardwoods wait to be milled into boards near the coastal city of Miri.

In Borneo’s Ruined Forests, Nomads Have Nowhere to Go

The island’s hunter-gatherers are losing their home to the unquenchable global demand for timber and palm oil

The statue of Abu Bint Deimun, from third century B.C. Hatra, Iraq. A global network of preservationists are teaming up to protect the world’s antiquities.

Crash Courses Prepare Art Conservators for Catastrophic Disasters

Smithsonian experts train a brave band of conservators in northern Iraq to brace buildings and rescue artifacts in a hurry

A human-headed winged bull from the eighth century B.C. Assyrian royal palace in Khorsabad. ISIS razed the city’s ruins last year.

The Race to Save Syria's Archaeological Treasures

The deliberate destruction of antiquities by ISIS and others in the birthplace of human civilization is cultural genocide

This Unfinished Film Highlights the Daily Lives of Black Americans in the 1960s

'The American Negro' shares stories of black surgeons, mothers and workers

The sun rises over Joshua Tree National Park. The newlydesignated Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow national monuments will connect Joshua Tree to other federally protected lands in a massive 1.8-million-acre preservation bid.

Obama Just Added Three More National Monuments

This time, the California desert was the president's preservation focus

A ground view of the proposed design for "The Weight of Sacrifice," which will serve as the new national World War I memorial.

This Is the Winning Design for the New World War I Memorial

One hundred years later, WWI will finally get a large-scale memorial in Washington, D.C.

An arch made from a bowhead whale jaw stands over traditional whaling boats in Barrow, Alaska.

As the Arctic Erodes, Archaeologists Are Racing to Protect Ancient Treasures

Once locked in frozen Alaskan dirt, Iñupiat artifacts are being lost to the sea, sometimes faster than scientists can find them

Amber Anderson and Sara Sanders were awarded an honorable mention for the 2015 Library of Congress Leicester B. Holland prize.

These Drawings of Historic Places Were Just Honored by the Library of Congress

Step back in time with architectural drawings of buildings steeped in history

Aurora Borealis over Reykjavik, Iceland

Illegal in Iceland: Quirky Bans From the Land of Fire and Ice

From historical bans on Basques to modern-day naming restrictions, Iceland's laws leave a lasting impression

San Francisco's modern-day Chinatown. Old Chinatown was almost completely destroyed during the earthquake of 1906 and the fires that ensued.

Traces of San Francisco’s Pre-1906 Earthquake Chinatown Uncovered

Old sewing machines shed light on an enclave that city officials once tried to eliminate

Hello?

A Phone Booth Was Just Put on the National Register of Historic Places

Save your change for a telephonic trip to Prairie Grove, Arkansas

The trailhead to Supai Village, part of the vast Grand Canyon area. Supai is the only the human settlement within the Grand Canyon.

Visit the Only Village Inside the Grand Canyon

Supai is so remote, mail is delivered by mule train

Inside the Collective That Turns VHS to Digital Video for Free

A team of media lovers wants to preserve your memories for history's sake

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