How Easter Island Statues ‘Walked’ To Their Stations

How were those gigantic Easter Island statues—the moai—moved from the quarry to their final stations? One going theory, popularized by Guns, Germs and Steel author Jared Diamond, has it that they were put on wooden sledges and pulled over a system of log rails. But here’s another theory: the statues, ranging from four to 33 [...]
June 21, 2012 | By Sarah Laskow

Pirate Vampire Dug Up in Bulgaria

Sorry, Dracula, Bill Compton and Team-Edward. An older vampire is in town, at least in Bulgaria. In the Black Sea town of Sozopol, a 700-year-old skeleton was found with metal stakes where the man’s heart had been, attracting flocks of onlookers to the church graveyard where the remains were discovered. Visitors also crowded to see [...]
June 21, 2012 | By Rachel Nuwer

Welcome to Threaded! And a Dig Through the Archives

Welcome to Threaded, your go-to fashion blog for all things historical and sartorial
June 20, 2012 | By Emily Spivack

Things That Humans Did Not Invent (Including Art)

We humans like to think of ourselves as unique creatures that do all sorts of neat tricks other species can’t manage. But Alistair Pike, a British archaeologist, says his new method of dating cave paintings shows that Neanderthals, not humans, could have created some of the earliest art. Granted, it’s just a bunch of red [...]
June 18, 2012 | By Sarah Laskow

Howard Carter: Famous Archaeologist, Not-So-Famous Painter

Didn’t know he was an artist too? "Tut tut!"
May 09, 2012 | By K. Annabelle Smith

How Humans Became Moral Beings

In a new book, anthropologist Christopher Boehm traces the steps our species went through to attain a conscience
May 04, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

Found: Letters from the Hindenburg

A new addition to the Smithsonian collections tells a new story about the legendary disaster
May 2012 | By Abigail Tucker

Kelly Slater, the Chairman of the Board

An ode to surfing’s fiercest, most successful competitor – who now has a place in the Smithsonian collections
May 2012 | By Owen Edwards

The Secret Lives of Medieval Books

A new method reveals which pages of ancient religious texts were most frequently used—and which prayers perpetually put readers to sleep
April 26, 2012 | By Joseph Stromberg

Using Space Satellites to Spot Ancient Cities

Computer analysis of satellite imagery has revealed what could be a record number of archaeological sites
March 20, 2012 | By Joseph Stromberg

Clovis People Hunted Canada’s Camels

North American camels went extinct at the end of the last ice age. Were humans partly to blame?
March 13, 2012 | By Bruce Dorminey

Oldest American Rock Art Found in Brazil

The petroglyph, with a head, hands and "oversized phallus" is around 10,000 years old
February 23, 2012 | By Virginia Hughes

What the Inuit Taught Scientists About Killer Whales

The native people knew what orcas ate, how they hunted prey, how the prey responded to the whales and when and where predation occurred
February 06, 2012 | By Greg Laden

How Old is That Silk Artifact?

A chemist from the Textile Museum is perfecting a new technique for understanding the past
February 2012 | By Joseph Stromberg

How One Mummy Came to the Smithsonian

An American diplomat’s memento takes center stage after 125 years
February 2012 | By Owen Edwards

The Science of Sarcasm? Yeah, Right

How do humans separate sarcasm from sincerity? Research on the subject is leading to insights about how the mind works. Really
November 14, 2011 | By Richard Chin

Secretary Clough on Jefferson's Bible

The head of the Smithsonian Institution details the efforts American History Museum conservators took to repair the artifact
October 2011 | By G. Wayne Clough

Fossil Finds Complicate Search for Human Ancestor

A new analysis of a 2-million-year-old hominid shows that it had an intriguing mix of australopithecine and Homo-like traits
September 09, 2011 | By Erin Wayman

Farming Like the Incas

The Incas were masters of their harsh climate, archaeologists are finding—and the ancient civilization has a lot to teach us today
September 07, 2011 | By Cynthia Graber

Gene Tunney's Gloves Enter the Ring

Fans still argue about who really won the 1927 "long count" fight between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey
September 2011 | By Owen Edwards

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