India

A photograph of a red slipped ware globular pot placed near the head of the skeleton that yielded ancient DNA. There are lines as well as indentations on the upper right side, just below the rim. The indentations on the body of the pot could be examples of ancient graffiti and/or "Indus script."

Rare Ancient DNA Provides Window Into a 5,000-Year-Old South Asian Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization flourished alongside Mesopotamia and Egypt, but the early society remains shrouded in mystery

Janaki Ammal was a pioneering botanist who helped identify and conserve the biodiversity of India.

The Pioneering Female Botanist Who Sweetened a Nation and Saved a Valley

One of India’s finest plant scientists, Janaki Ammal spurred her country to protect its rich tropical diversity

These "before" (May 31, 2018) and "after" (June 19, 2019) images illustrate the Indian city's dire water shortage

Satellite Images Reveal the Extent of Chennai’s Water Shortage

Poor management, groundwater overuse and climate change-driven weather shifts are among the factors driving the crisis

Climate Change Has Made Droughts More Frequent Since 1900

Tree ring data from various parts of the world shows that greenhouse gas increases have impacted soil moisture for over 100 years

The squirrels measure up to 36 inches from head to tail

Yes, Giant Technicolor Squirrels Actually Roam the Forests of Southern India

The colorful creatures can measure up to three feet long from head to tail and weigh in at around four pounds

There's a lot more pink in the water during the annual flamingo migration to Mumbai this winter.

Why Did Flamingos Flock to Mumbai in Record Numbers This Winter?

More than three times the usual number of migrating pink birds came, possibly attracted by algae blooms caused by sewage

Illustration of the GRAPES-3 Muon telescope in a lightning storm.

How Much Electricity Can Thunderstorms Produce?

Researchers used a cosmic ray detector to clock one storm in at a shocking 1.3 billion volts

During Holi, people crowd the streets and splash brilliantly colored dyes on anyone walking by.

The Meaning Behind the Many Colors of India's Holi Festival

From red to green to indigo, each color provides festival-goers with a sense of beauty, ritual and tradition

Mariner's Astrolabe Recovered From Shipwreck Is the World's Oldest

The navigational gadget comes from the wreck of the <i>Esmerelda</i>, part of Vasco da Gama's fleet that sunk off the coast of Oman in 1503

Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, also known as the "starry dwarf frog," has only been found on a single hill range in India's Western Ghats.

Newly Discovered Starry Dwarf Frogs Are Lone Species of an Ancient Lineage

The newly discovered ‘oddball frog’ species dwells in India’s Western Ghats, one of the hottest of the biodiversity hotspots

The Gardens of Agra

Restored Mughal Gardens Bloom Once More Along Agra's Riverfront

Two of the 44 original historic gardens and structures have been rescued in an ambitious conservation project

A segment of the 3 million-strong "women's wall" that gathered in the southern Indian state of Kerala on January 1, 2019.

Two Women Make History by Entering One of India’s Holiest Sites

This is the first time that women have been able to enter the Sabarimala temple since India’s Supreme Court overturned a ban that denied them access

'Statue of Unity" presently holds the record for world's tallest statue with a towering height of nearly 600 feet.

India Is Building the World’s Tallest Statue—Again

The monument of the Hindu god Ram is expected to stand 725 feet tall, and it plays a role in the country’s complex political landscape

The project aims to map the "Big Four," or the four most common venomous snakes in India—the spectacled cobra, saw-scaled viper, Russell’s viper (shown here) and common krait.

This App Is Saving Thousands of Snakes (and Humans) in India

The Big Four Mapping Project's conservation tool helps prevent snakebites and the killing of common venomous species

One of the human figures depicted in the newly documented petroglyphs

An Unknown Ancient Civilization in India Carved This Rock Art

Hikers are cataloging the petroglyphs in the western part of Maharashtra state

Image of the 12th-century Buddha statue

Crime-Fighting Art Expert Helps Bring Stolen Buddha Statue Back to India

The statue comes home 57 years ago after being stolen

Indian Supreme Court Orders Government to Restore the Taj Mahal — or Demolish It

After the government failed to file plans for restoring the monument, which is discolored by bug poo and pollution, the court has demanded action

Man With World's Longest Fingernails Finally Gets a Manicure

After growing out the nails on his left hand for 66 years, Shridhar Chillal has sold the 31 feet of keratin to Ripley's Believe It Or Not

"The seemingly rigid frontiers that have come to define places like Africa and Asia," says the museum's director Gus Casely Hayford, "are in fact remarkably fluid, connected through the intersections of art, commerce and culture."

First Major Swahili Coast Art Show Reveals a Diverse World of Cultural Exchange and Influence

At the Smithsonian’s African Art Museum, international influences commingle to create a farrago of artisanal splendors

Once touted as the Paris of the East, Ross Island has now been reclaimed by nature.

India's Abandoned Island of Colonial Horror

Eerie and desolate, Ross Island harbors a tale of oppression and disaster

Page 4 of 9