Smart News History & Archaeology

Male and female parasitic worms of the genus Schistosoma

New Research

Mesopotamian Irrigation May Have Helped Out a Parasite That Now Infects 200 Million People

A parasite egg found in a grave in the Middle East gives scientists a window into how disease spread in prehistory

These mana potions won't actually let you cast fireballs.

Cool Finds

How Did "Mana," An Austronesian Religious Idea, Become a Gaming Staple?

Anthropologist Alex Golub tracks the path of mana, from ancient Taiwan to fantasy gaming culture

Part of a healthy (neanderthal) diet

New Research

Neanderthals Ate Their Vegetables

Traces of feces found in Spain show that neanderthals ate their vegetables

Unattributed photograph of William Howard Taft from 1909

Cool Finds

Taft’s Bathtubs Weighed A Ton

Taft might not have really gotten stuck in a bathtub, but he did seem to have a fondness for them

Plimoth Plantation, a recreation of what the Plymouth colony might have looked like

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Are Trying To Figure Out Exactly Where Plymouth Was

A new excavation is looking into the location of the famous colony

Amelia Earhart and her plane

Cool Finds

Another Amelia Earhart Is Trying to Fly Around the World

Amelia Earhart (no relation to Amelia Earhart) is trying to follow in her namesake's flight path

Floodwaters gushing through a dam on the Yellow River.

New Research

Humans Have Been Messing With China's Yellow River for 3,000 Years

When humans try to tame nature things rarely go according to plan

New Research

When Trees Are Cut Down, Angkor’s Temples Begin to Crumble

People usually think of trees' destructive impacts on Angkor, but they also protect those iconic temples

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find Jobs in Oil Boomtown

The oil boom in North Dakota has lead to a lot of job openings, including jobs for archaeologists

Trending Today

When Did We Start Calling ‘Football’ ‘Soccer’?

"Soccer" isn't an Americanism at all—it's a British word

Cool Finds

New Road To Machu Picchu Discovered

The nearly-mile-long road was built over 500 years ago by the Inca, and appears to be intact

New Research

Europe Was Probably Colonized By Island Hoppers

New genetic research shows that people and agriculture likely spread across the Mediterranean by going from island to island

Cool Finds

The Snowy, Barren Arctic Actually Contains a Sophisticated Network of Inuit Trails

Compiled from accounts over the past 200 years, a new atlas documents a network of trails stretching across the Arctic

Cool Finds

Here’s What Actually Happens During an Execution by Molten Gold

It's probably not the gold itself that kills you, but rather the steam

Cool Finds

The Newest Fashion for Archaeologists: Wearable Submarines That Allow Them to Explore Shipwrecks

The device looks like an astronauts spacesuit and will allow researchers an unprecedented amount of time on the seafloor

Navajo Code Talkers during World War II.

Trending Today

The Last Navajo Code Talker Has Died

Chester Nez played an instrumental role in World War II

Lent by Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries. (L.4.122.2013_YOS.19_CDP-pub.tif)

Cool Finds

These 1861 Photos Helped Convince Abraham Lincoln to Preserve Yosemite for the Public

Stanford University celebrates the National Park's 150th anniversary with some retro photos

Military police during the ceremonial lowering of the Chinese flag in Tiananmen Square.

Trending Today

Twenty-Five Years After the Tiananmen Square Massacre, China's Still Trying to Muffle Its Memory

Stories and photos preserve the memory of the massacre that is all but a mystery to many young Chinese

These artifacts were stolen from the Egyptian Museum in 2011 and were recovered this April. but many looted artifacts leave the country, never to return.

Cool Finds

In Egypt, Antiquities Looters Use Bulldozers

Three years after the revolution, technology and diplomacy are being used to combat looters

Wool pants found in a grave in China are the oldest pants yet discovered by archaeologists

New Research

The World’s Oldest Pants Were Developed for Riding Horses

3,000-year-old pants discovered in ancient tomb in China

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