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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The Nazis appropriated Christmas imagery for political purposes, even changing the lyrics of traditional holiday songs like "Silent Night"

Berlin Exhibition Chronicles Evolution of Christmas Decorations From 19th Century to Today

Selections include swastika-adorned baubles from Nazi Germany, miniature bombs and warships popularized during World War I

Found Near the Thames: A Centuries-Old Skeleton, Still Wearing Thigh-High Boots

The owner of the unusual footwear likely made his living on the water

New Research

No, Wait, This Is the Real Ava, a Bronze Age Woman From the Scottish Highlands

New DNA evidence drastically changes the image of the young woman buried in Caithness 4,250 years ago

New Research

Evidence Suggests Humans Reached “Roof of the World” 40,000 Years Ago

Over 3,000 stone tools show human presence in Tibetan plateau 20,000 years before previously thought

The Most Beautiful Time of Life (Die Schönste Zeit des Lebens), as adapted from the manuscript found at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum archive

Listen Live: The First Public Performance of Music by Auschwitz I Men’s Orchestra Since the War

A University of Michigan scholar unearthed the musical manuscript penned by three Polish prisoners in the archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

The majority of homicides catalogued on the map occurred in public places, including crowded streets and markets

Relive Medieval London’s Bloody Murders With This New Interactive Death Map

The macabre tool features tales of revenge, thwarted love, infanticide—and a urinal that drove a man to murder

What is happening to the history major?

Trending Today

Why Are Fewer People Majoring in History?

Since the Great Recession, the number of history majors at colleges and universities has dropped by more than 30 percent

The Stone Age chefs likely boiled carp roe eggs in water or fish broth

Stone Age Humans Feasted on Caviar

Researchers used advanced protein analysis to identify traces of carp roe eggs left on a 6,000-year-old clay plot

Pulter's poems offer an intimate glimpse into the private life of a 17th-century noblewoman

Critically Explore 17th-Century Noblewoman’s Little-Known Poems Online

Hester Pulter’s works detail chaotic political landscape of the English Civil War, scientific discoveries, theological queries, personal struggles

"Rome Reborn" currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius

Virtual Travel

Ambitious VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings, Monuments to Their Former Glory

You can take an aerial tour of the city circa 320 A.D. or stop by specific sites for in-depth exploration

Well-Preserved Female Mummy Found in Elite Egyptian Necropolis

In a first, Egyptian authorities opened the woman’s sarcophagus in front of the international press

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent," 1559

Online Portal Reveals Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Creative Process

The project’s launch coincides with a blockbuster Vienna retrospective celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Flemish old master’s death

Trending Today

Berlin’s Famous East Side Gallery Protected from Development

The outdoor gallery on a former section of Berlin Wall has been threatened by a building boom in recent years

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Artifacts Reignite Feud Over Which Town Is Connecticut’s Oldest

Wethersfield and Windsor both date back to the early 17th century, but which came first is a matter of debate

A Rapa Nui sculptor has offered to create an exact replica of the famed Easter Island head

Rapa Nui Representatives Visit British Museum to Discuss Repatriation of Moai Statue

The four-ton sculpture was taken from an island temple and gifted to Queen Victoria in 1869

Quai Branly Museum in Paris houses a collection with more than 300,000 indigenous art of Africa, Asia, America and Oceania.

French Report Recommends the Full Restitution of Looted African Artworks

The report was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, who has advocated for repatriation

Civil War Photo Sleuth's software identifies up to 27 "facial landmarks" evident in images uploaded to database

Art Meets Science

Facial Recognition Software Is Helping Identify Unknown Figures in Civil War Photographs

Civil War Photo Sleuth aims to be the world’s largest, most complete digital archive of identified and unidentified Civil War-era portraits

Cool Finds

Did These Ancient Juglets—Found in a Bronze Age Burial in Israel—Contain Vanilla?

The finding suggests vanilla was being used 2,500 years earlier and half a world from where we thought, but vanilla experts are skeptical on the findings

The Statue of Liberty’s Original Torch Gets a New Home

The torch, which was replaced in the 1980s, has been moved to a new museum on Liberty Island

The museum featured replicas of a pioneer school, mining cabin, blacksmith's shop and more

Paradise’s Gold Nugget Museum Falls Victim to Camp Fire

The beloved local institution was founded in 1973 to commemorate the town’s prospecting past

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