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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Two stonecutters at work.

Cool Finds

Ancient Comics Line This Roman-Era Tomb in Jordan

Some of the nearly 260 figures depicted in the paintings are given speech captions reminiscent of modern comics

Smith spotted the elusive creature while searching for rare flowers in the Wondiwoi mountain range

Cool Finds

Elusive Tree Kangaroo Spotted for First Time in 90 Years

An amateur botanist spotted the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo in the remote mountains of West Papua, New Guinea

Michael D’Antuono, "The Talk"

NYC Pop-Up Exhibition Traces Broken Windows Policing’s Toll

The show explores how the policing of minor crimes has caused an uptick in racial profiling, particularly targeting African American and Latino communities

London Stone sat largely unnoticed behind this iron grill for roughly 50 years

London’s Lucky Stone—Referenced by Shakespeare, Blake—Set to Return to Rightful Place

It’s been identified as a remnant of an ancient Roman monument, the altar employed in Druidic human sacrifice, even the stone that yielded Excalibur

The unabashed depiction of violence seen in Caravaggio's "Judith Beheading Holofernes" underscores its creator’s bestial inclinations

Art Meets Science

Caravaggio May Have Died of Infected Sword Wound, Not Syphilis

The Italian Old Master had a notoriously mercurial temperament and was forced to flee Rome in 1606 after killing his rival in a duel

An aerial view of the razed Mackintosh building following the June 2018 fire

Glasgow School of Art Will Be Rebuilt, But Construction Could Last Up to a Decade

In June, an inferno blazed through the Scottish school’s historic Mackintosh Building, which was under renovation following a 2014 fire

Ptil Tekhelet sells tzitzit, or fringes attached to the corners of Jewish prayer shawls, colored with dye from the Murex trunculus snail

Jerusalem Museum Untangles History of the Color Blue, From Biblical Hue to Ancient Royalty

The show inks out the history of the enigmatic sky blue dye known as ‘tekhelet’

This 1860 portrait of Abraham Lincoln, believed to be by John C. Wolfe, depicts the young presidential nominee without his signature beard

More Than 700 Lincoln Collectibles Are Set to Go on Auction

Historian Harold Holzer amassed his extraordinary collection of lithographs, prints and assorted Lincolniana over the course of half a century

Pope Joan allegedly enjoyed a brief tenure as the Catholic Church's leader during the mid-800s

Why the Legend of Medieval Pope Joan Persists

The mythical female pope is back in the news as an academic uses medieval coins to look for physical evidence of her reign

Monty, the dog that found the Bronze Age relics, unearthed 13 sickles, two spear points, three axes and several bracelets.

Who’s a Good Archaeologist? Dog Digs Up Trove of Bronze Age Relics

While on a walk outside a small Czech village, Monty the dog and his owner found nearly two dozen 3,000-year-old artifacts

Pembroke Castle's outer ward, seen from the south.

Excavation at Welsh Castle May Shed Light on the Mystery of Henry VII’s Birthplace

Archaeologists say the Tudor king was likely born in a high-status residence in the castle’s outer ward

Freddie Oversteegen was a teenager when she joined the Dutch resistance

Freddie Oversteegen, Teenage Resistance Fighter Who Assassinated Nazis, Has Died at 92

Oversteegen and two other young women used their unassuming charms to ensnare Nazi collaborators

Humans' CMAH gene mutation may enable them to exhibit higher endurance over long periods of exercise

Human Gene Mutation May Have Paved the Way for Long-Distance Running

Mice with engineered versions of the CMAH gene exhibited 30 percent better endurance than those without

The wolf cub is the better-preserved of the two specimens, with everything from its fur to its tail and curled upper lip still intact

Cool Finds

Gold Miners Unearth 50,000-Year-Old Caribou Calf, Wolf Pup From Canadian Permafrost

Both animals’ fur, skin and muscle are almost perfectly preserved

The master female ceramicist likely created large vases, known as pithoi, similar to these

Her 3,000-Year-Old Bones Showed Unusual Signs of Wear. It Turns Out, She Was a Master Ceramicist

After analyzing the woman’s skeleton, researchers unlocked her past as an ancient Greek artisan

Diane Leather winning the women's 880 yards in 2:15.8 on May 12, 1956.

Record-Breaking Distance Runner Diane Leather Never Let Lack of Opportunity Slow Her Down

The first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes has died at age 85

A popular 19th-century slide depicts rats jumping into the throat of a sleeping man

Art Meets Science

Before There Was Streaming, the Victorians Had “Magic Lanterns”

New research finds these early image projectors, which brought world landmarks, fairytale favorites to life, were a regular part of middle-class life

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured incredible images of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10.

Trending Today

Five Ways Cultural Institutions, Landmarks and Zoos Are Prepping for Hurricane Florence

Many museums are closing their doors, while zoos and aquariums are moving their animals indoors

Ancient beer wasn’t exactly the crisp, cold beverage we know today. Researchers think it probably looked more like thin porridge or gruel.

Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel

According to the authors of a new study, the discovery marks the earliest-known evidence of beer production among ancient peoples

One of Bentham's memorial rings.

Experts Are Searching for a 19th-Century Philosopher’s Strange Memorial Rings

Jeremy Bentham requested that rings containing locks of his hair be sent to 26 people. He also wanted his body to be put on display

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