Eras
Eras are periods of time defined by geologic or historic events
How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers
From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, contemporary art, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we'll find an answer
February 07, 2012 |
By Aviva Shen
The Debate Over Dinosaur Sight
Did Velociraptor hunt under the cover of darkness?
February 03, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Nice Things to Say About Attila the Hun
How did the terrible Attila the Hun command so much loyalty—and why, in death, was he so mourned?
February 03, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The “Duck-billed” Dinosaur That Wasn’t
Instead of a long, low duck bill, the beak of Tethyshadros was shaped like a snowplow and serrated. Why it had such a strange beak is a mystery
February 01, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Oldest Modernist Paintings
Two thousand years before Picasso, artists in Egypt painted some of the most arresting portraits in the history of art
February 2012 |
By Smithsonian Magazine
How an Ankylosaur Went Out to Sea
How did a heavily armored dinosaur wind up at the bottom of Alberta's Cretaceous sea?
January 30, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Paleontologists Uncover Oldest Known Dinosaur Nest Site
The "lay 'em and leave 'em" strategy might not have been the ancestral state for these dinosaurs
January 25, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Fearsome Dinosaur Had Ridiculously Short Arms
The forelimbs of this animal look like an evolutionary joke
January 24, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Some Dinosaurs Used Natural Heat for Their Nests
The sauropod site may have resembled Yellowstone National Park, with geysers, hot springs and mud pots
January 23, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Largest Ceratosaurus
How many species of this rare, ornamented genus were there?
January 19, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Stalking of the President
Charles J. Guiteau said he wanted to kill President James A. Garfield "in an American manner." He passed up several opportunities before he thought the time was right.
January 17, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Dinosaurian Snorkels, Air Tanks and Tubas
Parasaurolophus is one of the most perplexing dinosaurs - what did it use its huge crest for?
January 10, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Eggs and Enigmatic Dinosaurs
Paleontologists have found the bones of a new dinosaur with eggs nearby, but how do we know whether the bones and eggs go together?
December 21, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
A Comedy of Dinosaur Errors
If any dinosaur has a tortured history, it's the giant predator Saurophaganax
December 16, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Nedoceratops: To Be, or Not to Be?
Should Nedoceratops and Torosaurus be sunk into Triceratops? The debate continues, and it's not just a bit of paleontological arcana
December 15, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Emperor Wang Mang: China’s First Socialist?
In A.D. 9, the Chinese emperor nationalized his state's land and redistributed it to the peasantry. That revolutionary act cost him his throne and his life—and even now his motives remain unclear
December 09, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Spinops: The Long-Lost Dinosaur
Spinops was one funky looking dinosaur, and its discovery emphasizes the role of museum collections. Who knows what else is waiting to be rediscovered?
December 07, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
A Detailed Guide to a Hadrosaur’s Foot
This is not super-sexy research, but some of the biggest gaps in our understanding about dinosaurs involve relatively simple things
December 02, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Lambe’s Lazy, Scavenging Gorgosaurus
Back when tyrannosaurs were new to science, paleontologist Lawrence Lambe cast them as bumbling scavengers that ate rotten flesh
December 01, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
