This portrait of some of the Wharton family children by Joan Carlile represents the work of one of Britain's earliest female professional portrait artists. 

She Was One of Britain's First Professional Female Portraitists. Why Isn't Joan Carlile Better Known?

Though only ten of her works have been identified, the painter's influence endures

A group of Chinchorro mummies, dated between 5000 B.C.E. and 3000 B.C.E.

Can the World's Oldest Mummies Survive Climate Change and Other Threats in the Coming Decades?

Up to 7,000 years old, the mummified remains are treasured by local residents

Judy Chicago’s 1985 painting The Creation shows a woman birthing the world. 

Global Cultures Have Always Worshipped—and Feared—Women

A new explores two sides of female divinity

The Parthenon sculptures are also known as the Elgin Marbles. 

Can Greece and the U.K. Finally Broker a Deal to Return the Elgin Marbles to Athens?

New talks raise old questions about the ancient Parthenon sculptures

Pablo Picasso's Femme nue couchée depicts his mistress as a sea monster.

A Painting of Picasso’s Mistress Muse Just Sold for $67.5 Million

The piece was created in 1932, one of the painter’s most noteworthy years

An electrical works project led archaeologists to uncover this Aztec-era dwelling. 

Construction Workers Uncover Massive 800-Year-Old Aztec Dwelling in Mexico City

The accidental discovery has a long, layered history

This Assyrian rock art discovered under a home in southeastern Turkey was hidden by local looters. 

Ancient Rock Art Depicting Divine Procession Discovered in Secret Chamber Beneath Turkish House

It may have been created as a way for Neo-Assyrian officials to curry favor with local residents

The giants of Mont'e Prama are thought to be 3,000 years old. 

Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Giant Statues in Sardinian Necropolis

The seven-foot statues have expressionless faces—and a mysterious history

Antiques dealer Laura Young purchased the bust at Goodwill for $34.99.

Ancient Roman Sculpture Likely Looted During WWII Turns Up at Texas Goodwill

Experts are debating who the bust portrays, but they agree on one thing—a thrift store is an unusual spot to find a millennia-old statue

Museum visitors admire a Pablo Picasso portrait of Dora Maar.

Meet the Muses Who Inspired Some of the World's Most Iconic Artworks

A new book examines the lives of muses across history and the role they played in shaping treasured works like "The Kiss" and "Ophelia"

The clay pot contained 1,290 Roman coins.

Amateur Archaeologist Stumbles Onto Trove of Coins Dated to Constantine the Great's Reign

Found in Switzerland, some of the buried Roman coins were minted during a time of relative political stability, between 332 and 335 C.E.

Researchers dated the skulls to between 900 and 1200 C.E.

Skulls Thought to Belong to Modern Murder Victims Actually Date to the Pre-Hispanic Period

Found in a cave in Mexico in 2012, the 10th- through 13th-century bones may have been displayed in a ritual tower of craniums

A gold Achaemenid plaque featuring a winged lion-griffin, dated to between 500 and 330 B.C.E.

In the Classical World, Persia's Powers Rivaled Greece and Rome

An exhibition at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles shows how ancient Iran held its own against its better-known contemporaries

A 1928 photograph of Ernest Hemingway, held in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, was taken in Paris by the artist Man Ray after the legendary writer suffered a life-threatening head injury.

In Search of the Authentic Ernest Hemingway

Take a deep-dive into the story behind this rarely published Smithsonian portrait of the legendary writer

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