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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

A monument in Germany acknowledges Halvorsen's contributions during the Berlin Airlift.

How the ‘Candy Bomber’ Left a Lasting Legacy in Cold War Germany

Former WWII pilot Gail S. Halvorsen is still fondly remembered as the American who delivered sweets to German children during the Berlin Airlift

The chamber pot stands about 12.5 inches tall and measures 13.5 inches wide at the rim.

New Research

Parasite Eggs Help Archaeologists Identify Ancient Roman Chamber Pot

The ceramic vessel contained whipworm eggs found in human feces, debunking the theory that it simply served as a storage jar

Scientists tested 16 hearth locations inside Lazaret Cave near Nice, France, to determine how early humans used fire.

New Research

Why Early Humans Built Fires in the Center of Lazaret Cave

A new study suggests pre-Neanderthals carefully placed their hearths to minimize smoke exposure while maximizing room for activities

Archaeologist pulled 12 Revolutionary War era cannons from the Savannah River in January. 

Cool Finds

How Did So Many Revolutionary War Cannons End Up in the Savannah River?

Archaeologists pull another dozen sediment-encrusted artillery pieces after finding three last year

Archaeologists found a 5,000-year-old drum, a clay ball and a polished bone pin at a burial site in the English village of Burton Agnes. 

An Ornate, 5,000-Year-Old Stone Drum Is the U.K.’s Most Significant Prehistoric Art Find in a Century

Now on view in London, the chalk sculpture was buried alongside three children between 3005 and 2890 B.C.E.

The tiny Piel Island has an inn and pub and an ancient castle.

Good News

A Tiny English Island Is Looking for a New Monarch to Run its Pub

Piel Island needs its ruler to manage its inn and maintain its campgrounds

Harriet Jacobs, who escaped enslavement to write Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), created these three dolls for the children of writer Nathaniel Parker Willis around 1850-60. 

History of Now

Black Dolls Tell a Story of Play—and Resistance—in America

A new exhibition traces the toys’ history from handmade cloth figures to an American Girl character

Ruins of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist temple, one of the oldest discovered in Pakistan's Gandhara region.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Buddhist Temple Unearthed in Pakistan

The structure is one of the oldest of its kind in the Gandhara region

Scientists studied more than 1,500 beads made from ostrich egg shells from across 31 sites in Africa, and found that they were nearly identitical in shape and size, suggesting an early form of social networking. 

New Research

A 50,000-Year-Old Fashion Statement Could Be One of the World’s Oldest Social Networks

Nearly identical beads carved from ostrich eggshells, found over a large region of Africa, might have been a first in cool trends

An archaeologist examines a beheaded body found at an ancient Roman cemetery in England.

Cool Finds

Dozens of Decapitated Skeletons Found at Roman Cemetery in England

Uncovered at the largest burial site in Buckinghamshire, the bodies may have belonged to criminals or outcasts, researchers suggest

Neronian points found in Grotte Mandrin

Discovery of Ancient Baby Tooth Places Humans in Western Europe 10,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

The archeologists also uncovered a number of Neanderthal artifacts suggesting the two species coexisted in the area

A replica of Lt. James Cook's H.M.B. Endeavour docked in Sydney. Australian reserachers say they have identified the real shipwreck off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island. 

New Research

Why Researchers Are Clashing Over Proposed Identification of Captain Cook’s ‘Endeavour’

Australian archaeologists say they’ve found the wreck of the British explorer’s research vessel. American scholars called the announcement “premature”

A partial woolly rhinoceros mandible with several teeth still attached.

Cool Finds

Dozens of Extinct Ice Age Animal Remains Found During Construction of a New Town in England

Archeologists found bones from a woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, wolf, hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare, red fox and various small mammals

Archaeologist discovered a large number of ostraca, or inscribed fragments of pottery, at the ancient Egyptian temple of Athribis.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover 18,000 Ancient Egyptian ‘Notepads’

Known as “ostraca,” the inscribed pottery shards document everyday life in the city of Athribis

Reserachers descend into a Yucatan sinkhole to examine sacred Maya cacao groves. 

Researchers Now Know Where the Ancient Maya Planted Their Sacred Cacao Groves

Sinkholes across the Yucatan Peninsula provided perfect growing conditions for the plant, used as currency in the Mesoamerican civilization

Established in 1949, the Freedom House in Boston once served as a meeting place for civil rights activists. Today, the nonprofit center continues its work to improve the lives of Black Americans and other marginalized groups.

Freedom House, an Iconic Civil Rights Hub in Boston, Is Set for Demolition

Nicknamed the “Black Pentagon,” the building served as a meeting place for local racial justice activists

Chalcidian helmets such as this one were often worn by ancient Greek warriors.

Cool Finds

These Ancient Greek Helmets Tell of a Naval Battle 2,500 Years Ago

Archaeologists in southern Italy discovered the headgear along with pottery, fragments and a shield near the likely remains of a temple to goddess Athena

An ancient Roman amphitheater that may have been one of the last built was discovered during construction of a new boathouse on the Rhine River in Switzerland.

Cool Finds

A Gladiator Arena, Possibly the Last Ever Built, Discovered in Switzerland

Archaeologists unearth a fourth century amphitheater that stood on the far reaches of the Roman Empire more than 1,400 years ago

Archaeologists unearth a limestone foundation of one of the buildings of St. Mary's College - an Oxford College left to decay 500 years ago as result of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Foundations of Oxford University’s ‘Lost’ College

Founded for Catholic priests, the institution was destroyed 500 years ago when Henry VIII established the Church of England

Holocaust graphic novel Maus topped several Amazon bestseller book lists this week after a Tennessee county school board voted to ban the book for eighth grade students in early January. 

Banned by Tennessee School Board, ‘Maus’ Soars to the Top of Bestseller Charts

Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel details his parents’ experiences in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust

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