Historic Eras
Historic eras—including prehistory, ancient and modern history—represent time viewed through the lens of human events
Riddles of the Anasazi
Toward the end of the 13th century, something went terribly wrong among the Anasazi. What awful event forced the people to flee their homeland, never to return?
July 2003 |
By David Roberts
How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World
When Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, he altered the shape of a nation and the course of history
April 2003 |
By Joseph Harriss
Winter Palace
The first major exhibition devoted to the Incas' fabled cold-weather retreat highlights Machu Picchu's secrets
March 2003 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Testimony from the Iceman
The 5,000-plus-year-old Neolithic man discovered a decade ago is telling scientists how he lived and died
February 2003 |
By Bob Cullen
Lasting Impressions
Scientists cast tall shadows but find themselves hard pressed to explain the blues to Mongolians
November 2002 |
By Donovan Webster
First City in the New World?
Peru's Caral suggests civilization emerged in the Americas 1,000 years earlier than experts believed
August 2002 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Iron Will
While William Clark is best known for the expedition he made with Meriwether Lewis, his later life was as historic and more consequential
August 2002 |
By Landon Y. Jones
Romancing the Stones
Who built the great megaliths and stone circles of Great Britain, and why? Researchers continue to puzzle and marvel over these age-old questions
July 01, 2002 |
By David Roberts
Drawn from Prehistory
Deep within Mexico's Baja peninsula, nomadic painters left behind the largest trove of ancient art in the Americas
May 2002 |
By Donovan Webster
The Secrets of Easter Island
The more we learn about the remote island from archaeologists and researchers, the more intriguing it becomes
March 2002 |
By Paul Trachtman
In Search of St. Augustine
Beyond the tourist trappings and sunny beaches, inquisitive travelers can find remnants of America's Spanish past
October 2001 |
By Richard & Joyce Wolkomir
The Case of the Purloined Pots
In the deserts of the Southwest, pothunters are stealing a priceless heritage of ancient Native American art
September 2001 |
By Kent Black
Washington Slept Here
A look at the first president's "best bed" leads to a recollection of the real man and his exemplary life
December 1999 |
By Timothy Foote
Turning Water to Gold
Confronted with a hill full of gold, miners removed the hill and the gold and left a mess behind
August 1999 |
By Edwin Kiester, Jr
A Social Divide Written in Stone
Archaeological research at Cliff Palace resumes after 80 years. Surprises are the order of the day
February 1999 |
By David Roberts
On the Frankincense Trail
An archeologist travels ancient trade routes in search of clues to a lost civilization
October 1998 |
By David Roberts
A Metal Far From Base
A tiny flake started the rush to California, but where gold is concerned, that isn't the half of it
July 1998 |
By Jan Adkins
The Yucatán's Flooded Basement
Neither darkness nor swirling silt nor an alarming accident rate can keep divers from exploring this surreal labyrinth
April 1998 |
By Michael Agar
