Historic Eras
Historic eras—including prehistory, ancient and modern history—represent time viewed through the lens of human events
Archaeologists Excavate Death Pit, Finding Hundreds of Sacrificed Soldiers in Denmark
Archaeologists are excavating hundreds of skeletons from the boggy swamps, and the remains belong to men who all sacrificed around the time of Christ
August 15, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Hot for Hominids – Did Humans Mate With Neanderthals Or Not?
Geneticists are busy figuring out whether humans and Neanderthals got busy
August 15, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Google Earth Probably Didn’t Just Find New Pyramids
Amateur archaeologist claims to have found lost pyramids using Google Earth. Real archaeologists are skeptical
August 14, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Olympics Are Over and Here Are the Best Infographics
While athletes were setting world records, designers and journalists were building graphics and games to track them. Here are the best ones.
August 13, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Demonization of Empress Wu
"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Why People Won’t Leave the Town that Has Been On Fire for Fifty Years
For the residents of Centralia, Pennsylvania, the fire that has been burning beneath their town for fifty years is part of what makes it home.
August 10, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
How Olympic Bodies Have Changed Over Time
From 1929 to now, how do former Olympic champions compare to today's athletes?
August 09, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Archaeologists Discover 1000-Year Old Hyper-Caffeinated Tea in Illinois
Unearthed from a site near modern day St. Louis, Missouri, archaeologists found tea residue in pottery beakers that dates back to as early as 1050 A.D.
August 08, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Long Before Curiosity, Carl Sagan Had Something to Say to Kids About Mars
In a lectures series for children, Carl Sagan educates us all on the history and exploration of Mars.
August 08, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Synchronized Swimming is Really Hard, and Really Weird
Olympic synchronized swimmers get a lot of flack for their wacky sport - but while it is weird, it's also really hard.
August 08, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
76 Years Ago Today, Jesse Owens Proved the Nazis Wrong
In 1936 Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, throwing the idea of Aryan supremacy back into Hitler's face.
August 03, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Read a 2007 Essay in Smithsonian by Gore Vidal, Last Writer of His Kind
Why more writers should be as fearless, and as prickly as Vidal.
August 01, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Is This the Oldest Cave Art on the Planet?
Underneath a massive rock slab which rests on dozens of narrow stilts researchers have found the world's oldest stone axe, and a vast collection of painted artwork.
July 30, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
How China Will Beat the US in Olympic Medals
How to tell which countries will take home more bling, and why weight lifting matters.
July 30, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Why the Population Time Bomb Hasn’t Finished Exploding
In a five-part exploration of the ever-growing human population, now sitting at 7 billion and expected to hit 9.3 billion by 2050, Los Angeles Times reporter Kenneth R. Weiss, describes how the world may, finally, be on the cusp of diffusing the still-ticking time bomb.
July 24, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
New Study Suggests Humans, Not Climate, Killed Off Neanderthals
Roughly 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthals that lived in the Mediterranean disappeared. Whether they simply up and left, or died off, is anybody’s guess. They were still a common sight in western Europe for another 10,000 years, so outright extinction is off the table. In trying to understand what lead to the Neanderthal’s decline, archaeologists [...]
July 24, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Today’s the Shared Anniversary of Ruin Porn Poster Children Detroit, Machu Picchu
July 24th marks double jackpot for the intrepid explorers of years past as well for as fans of the latest photographic trend, "ruin porn."
July 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
On the Trail of the Warsaw Basilisk
The basilisk was just a legendary monster–until the day in 1587 that word swept through Warsaw that one was hiding in a cellar in the Polish capital, killing anybody who approached it
July 23, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Bra Is 500 Years Older Than We Thought
Victoria has been keeping secrets for a long, long time. Hidden away in an Austrian castle archaeologists uncovered four 600-year old linen bras, a find that shouldn't have been.
July 19, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
How Common Was Cannibalism?
While eating one another is understandable if stranded on a snowy mountain or desolate wasteland, evidence exists that some societies tucked into the practice even if not faced with life-or-death situations, just for the fun of it.
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
