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Articles

Ancient Mayan skull and bones remain in a Mexican sinkhole, remnants of a long-ago human sacrifice. The victims of sacrifice in Mayan rituals were varied, ranging from slaves to captive rulers of other lands.

New Research

Human Sacrifices May Lie Behind the Rise of Ancient Social Status

Dark practices may have helped the elite keep the lower classes in line, a new study hints

Jaya Jaitly has fought for the survival of traditional crafts such as the earthen pots, pans, planters, piggy banks and pradip, or oil lamps.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Meet the Woman Fighting for the Survival of India’s Traditional Crafts Culture

Jaya Jaitly aims to protect India’s cultural heritage from the threat of globalized marketplaces

These Light-Up Fishing Nets Could Save Sea Turtles

New research shows attaching LED lights to fishing nets can keep turtles from becoming accidentally entangled

The fake egg looks and feels the same as a real vulture egg.

Scientists Are Using Electronic Eggs to Study Vultures

A sensor-packed egg, developed by a team at Microduino, could lead to clues about the birds’ livelihood

A Cheese-Lover’s Guide to the Midwest

America’s heartland is a cheesy paradise

As we turn towards Kawaihae, I get another turn at the steering paddle. All of us steered at different times, sometimes two or three at once to handle the paddle in rough seas.

A Firsthand Account of What It Takes to Pilot a Voyaging Canoe Across the Ocean

More than just a desire to learn, a seat aboard the historic vessel Hōkūle`a requires skill, dedication and well, …obsession

Jackson was the first candidate who successfully ran an anti-establishment presidential campaign

History of Now

Andrew Jackson, America’s Original Anti-Establishment Candidate

The seventh president raged against many of the same machines that are now engulfing this year’s election

Flatline on a heart monitor

The Lazarus Phenomenon, Explained: Why Sometimes, the Deceased Are Not Dead, Yet

What does CPR have to do with the curious case of clinically dead patients coming “back to life”?

Arches National Park

National Parks

Marathoner Sets Out to Run All of America’s National Parks

Autumn Ray’s goal: 59 national parks before she turns 40 in four years

T. rex had tiny arms. But that’s no reason to mock the dinosaur.

Stop Making Fun of Tyrannosaurs’ Tiny Arms

The stubby limbs may seem out of place, but they may have been key to the T. rex’s terrifying bite

This spring, think about looking for cherry blossoms in unexpected places.

Where to See the Best Cherry Blossoms Around the World

The blossoms in Japan and Washington, D.C are breathtaking, but you can see beautiful flowers in places like Stockholm, too

In a reconstruction, by artist John Gurche, the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum displays what the Hobbit would have looked like in the Hall of Human Origins.

“Hobbits” Disappeared Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

If the tiny hominins ever coexisted with modern humans, the arrangement apparently didn’t last long

Six of the Wildest Skyscrapers Imaginable

The winners of the annual skyscraper design competition think way beyond the “tall rectangle with windows” model

Pluto’s ‘heart’ is a giant crater that may be slowly moving across the dwarf planet’s surface, scientists say.

Pluto May Have a Wandering Heart

The enormous impact basin may be slowly traveling across the dwarf planet’s surface

Cow trekking at Bolderhof.

Europe

Save a Horse, Ride a Cow Through the Swiss Alps

A farm in Switzerland offers a slow moo-tion ride through the alpine countryside

An ant of the species Iridomyrmex purpureus (center) lifts a leg in an aggressive display when she encounters ants from a different nest.

Antennae Yield New Clues Into Ant Communication

Despite more than a century of study, scientists still have much more to learn about the complex world of ant communication

1960s family sitting in four-door sedan automobile

“Driving While Black” Has Been Around As Long As Cars Have Existed

Documentarian Ric Burns talks about his forthcoming film about the “Green Book” and other travel guides for African-Americans

Newspapers chronicled gun incidents, referring to them as "melancholy accidents"

History of Now

When Newspapers Reported on Gun Deaths as “Melancholy Accidents”

A historian explains how a curious phrase used by the American press caught his eye and became the inspiration for his new book

David Baker directing the SJMO in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Jazz Legend David Baker’s Soaring Legacy

Smithsonian’s maestro, a founding director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, has died at the age of 84

Avenue of Cherry Trees Yoshida Hiroshi, Showa era, 1935

How Cherry Trees Blossomed Into a Tourist Attraction

The fragile and transient blossom may herald the first stirrings of spring, but their significance has evolved since the 9th century

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