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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Bruno Dey, a former SS watchman at the Stutthof concentration camp, hides his face behind a folder as he arrives for a hearing in his trial on July 23.

Former Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Convicted as Accessory in 5,230 Murders

Defendant Bruce Dey, now 93, oversaw prisoners at Stutthof in Poland from August 1944 to April 1945

Release the Kraken!

The Legend, the History and the Science Behind Seattle’s New Hockey Team Name

NHL fans, meet the Seattle Kraken—named for a mythical beast that may have been inspired by the very real giant squid

Theodore Roosevelt stands with naturalist John Muir on Glacier Point, above Yosemite Valley, California, USA.

Sierra Club Grapples With Founder John Muir’s Racism

The organization calls out Muir’s racist statements and pledges to diversify leadership and deepen environmental justice initiatives

Chicago-based publisher Haymarket Books will launch the reimagined London tube map next International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021.

A New London Tube Map Will Highlight Women and Nonbinary People

Co-organizers Emma Watson and Reni Eddo-Lodge drew inspiration from a 2016 project centered on the New York City subway

Curators at the Science and Industry Museum are unsure what purpose this object, crudely cast with a copper-based alloy, served.

Can You Help Identify This Museum’s Mystery Artifacts?

A Manchester-based science institution has a backlog of unusual objects in need of classification

Artifacts found at the site include jewelry from Asia (left) and an inscribed weight possibly imported from Ireland.

Cool Finds

Archaeology Student Finds Viking Trading Post in Norway

Artifacts unearthed at the site include jewelry, coins and pieces of silver

Effective immediately, the franchise will be known as the "Washington Football Team."

After Retiring Its Racist Name, D.C. Football Team Announces Temporary Moniker

A new title will be announced once trademark issues are resolved

Reconstruction of the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidauros

Did the Ancient Greeks Design Temples With Accessibility in Mind?

Study suggests ramps found at ancient sites may have been used by people with disabilities, but some scholars remain skeptical

Frans Snyders' Fruit Stall features a vast spread of produce from the 17th century.

Art Meets Science

Centuries-Old Paintings Help Researchers Track Food Evolution

Art inadvertently documents the domestication of carrots, wheat, watermelon and other culinary delights

In Herefordshire, a resident encountered this pair of post-medieval snake-shaped belt or strap hooks.

Covid-19

See Archaeological Treasures Unearthed by U.K. Residents During Lockdown

Finds include a Neolithic arrowhead, a snake-shaped belt hook and shards of Roman pottery

The Renaissance artist died in 1520 at age 37.

New Research Suggests Bloodletting, Pneumonia Killed Raphael

The artist failed to disclose his late-night outings to physicians, leading them to misdiagnose his illness

Researchers unearthed this bison-bone hoe in Manitoba, Canada.

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Gardening Hoes Made of Bison Bone Found in Canada

The tools provide evidence that the region’s Indigenous population practiced agriculture pre-European contact

Users can zoom in on different sections of the quilt or search for specific panels by inputting names and keywords.

You Can Now Explore All 48,000 Panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Online

The commemorative quilt weighs 54 tons and spans 1.2 million square feet

The main circular earthwork at Navan Fort in Northern Ireland measures roughly 130 feet in diameter. But archaeologists surveying the site have found signs of even larger structures that may have been temples.

Cool Finds

Evidence of Enormous Temples Found at Northern Ireland’s Navan Fort

Non-invasive survey reveals traces of Iron Age religious structures, early medieval royal residences

Lynne Olver's personal library contains more than 2,300 food-related books.

You Could Help Curate This Ambitious Timeline of Food History

The family of Lynne Olver, the librarian who launched the online portal in 1999, needs help keeping her legacy alive

The wreck of an ancient Greek ship, the Peristera, rests at a depth of 92 feet below the water's surface.

This Ancient Greek Shipwreck Is Now an Underwater Museum

The Peristera, a cargo vessel loaded with thousands of amphorae, sank in the Aegean Sea around 500 B.C.

Wall art dated to around 1900 B.C. shows visitors to Egypt wearing colorful robes distinct from the white clothing worn by locals.

New Research Reveals Surprising Origins of Egypt’s Hyksos Dynasty

An analysis of ancient tooth enamel suggests the enigmatic ancients were immigrants, not invaders

The violin-shaped artifacts lack signs of wear associated with use as tools or weapons.

Cool Finds

Do These 10,000-Year-Old Flint Artifacts Depict Human Figures?

Archaeologists say the objects’ grooves evoke the hips and the narrowing of the neck around the shoulders

Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum that features a recreation of Plymouth's 17th-century English village and a Wampanoag homesite.

Massachusetts’ Plimoth Plantation Will Change Its Name

The new moniker will incorporate the Mashpee Wampanoag name for the region: Patuxet

After the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish forced the Aztecs to tear down their buildings and use the leftover materials to construct a new city.

Cool Finds

Aztec Palace and House Built by Hernán Cortés Unearthed in Mexico City

The Spanish conquistador’s home stood on the site of the razed royal residence

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