Smart News History & Archaeology

Image captured from the 1948 Republican National Convention.

Cool Finds

Watch Historic Footage of Seven Consequential (and Cringeworthy) Convention Moments

These tidbits of political theater past must be seen to be believed

This musical score, in Jane Austen's handwriting, is one of nearly 600 Austen family musical treasures available in an online archive.

Cool Finds

Jane Austen’s Music Collection Is Now Online

Play piano like a Darcy with nearly 600 Austen-approved tunes

Eleven Persian qanats are being preserved by Unesco.

Trending Today

Unesco Names New World Heritage Sites

Rock art, irrigation and education add to the organization's growing list of sites worthy of protection

Was this 1660 self-portrait painted with the help of high-tech optics?

New Research

Did Rembrandt Have Help With His Most Famous Paintings?

A new study suggests the old master also knew his optics

W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Cool Finds

The Revolutionary Infographics of W.E.B. Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

Data visualizations shed light on the living conditions of black people decades after the end of slavery

Artist sketches of D.B. Cooper, who vanished in 1971 with $200,000 in stolen cash.

Trending Today

After 45 Years, the FBI Has Officially Stopped Looking for D.B. Cooper

The mysterious skyjacker got away clean

Cultural treasure—or stolen goods?

Trending Today

Britain’s Most Famous Plundered Art Could Finally Go Home

There’s a new attempt to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece

A courtyard in front of a mosque adjacent to the al-Qarawiyyin Library, pre-restoration.

Cool Finds

The World’s Oldest Working Library Will Soon Open Its Doors to the Public

After renovations wrap up in September, the library at Morocco’s al-Qarawiyyin University will debut an exhibition section for non-scholars

New Research

Did Ancient Pacific Islanders Use Obsidian to Make Their Tattoos?

A team of Australian researchers think they may have found tools used to ink the ancients

Amphora that were cargo of a ship that sank in the Greek archipelago of Fourni

Cool Finds

New Discoveries Double the Size of Ancient Greek Shipwreck Graveyard

Researcher in the Fourni archipelago found 23 ships dating between 525 B.C. and 1850

Cool Finds

Before Pokémon Go, These Scavenger Hunts Were All The Rage

"X" marks the spot

"Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear"
Vincent van Gogh
1889

Trending Today

Van Gogh Cut Off a Lot More Than His Earlobe

The self-inflicted wound was even worse than most thought

"These chimpanzees get more recognition, respect & freedom in American than our people do," wrote Malcolm X to a friend in 1964.

Cool Finds

Here's What Malcolm X Thought About Race in 1964

A revealing postcard to Redd Foxx is up for auction

Theresa May, the U.K.'s newest Prime Minister.

Trending Today

Why Britain’s New Prime Minister Wasn’t Elected

Theresa May will become the U.K.’s newest Prime Minister tomorrow

Rachel Kalisher, a member of the physical anthropology team, measures a 10th-9th century BC skeleton

Cool Finds

New Dig Shows the Philistines Weren’t Such Philistines

A graveyard containing over 200 sets of remains is giving researchers their first deep look into the little-known biblical tribe

Aerial view of Dallas, Texas in 1892.

Trending Today

The Tragic Story of Dallas' First African-American Police Officer

After William McDuff was killed, it took Dallas 50 years to replace him

"A Man Was Lynched By Police Yesterday"
Dread Scott, 2015

Trending Today

How an Anti-Lynching Banner From the 1920s and '30s Is Being Updated to Protest Modern-Day Violence

One artist took inspiration from the NAACP's iconic flag

"Snap-the-Whip" (Winslow Homer, 1873)

Cool Finds

This Exhibit Captures the Magic of Being a Kid

The Metropolitan Museum of Art peeks into the idealized lives of kids past

A fireplace at Melford Hall.

Cool Finds

These Beatrix Potter Illustrations Were Found Tucked Inside a Mansion’s Books

The children’s book author found inspiration on vacation

Cool Finds

The KGB’s Favorite Restaurant Reopens in Moscow

Aragvi, the haunt of Soviet-era celebrities and spies opens after a 13-year absence and $20 million renovation

Page 219 of 277