Smart News History & Archaeology

The brown bear patella researchers dated to 12,500 years ago

New Research

Bear Bone Adds 2,500 Years to History of Humans in Ireland

Carbon dating of a bear bone covered in cut marks pushes human habitation of Ireland back into the Paleolithic Era

In 1957, the former first lady took to the wheels of steel.

Cool Finds

That One Time Eleanor Roosevelt Was a DJ

In 1957, the first lady spun records for a cause

Some of the items found in the Watlington hoard including coins depicting Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II together

Cool Finds

Blokes with Metal Detectors Uncover Pieces of British History

Finds by amateur history sleuths shed light on the time when Anglo-Saxons clashed with Vikings

You can thank William Perkin for that garish dress your best friend will make you wear at her wedding.

Cool Finds

How Malaria Gave Us Mauve

Tropical diseases and coal tar have a lot to do with brightly-colored clothing

Trending Today

Watch a Statue of Lenin Being Torn Down in Real Time

It’s hard to topple a 66-foot statue—or contend with the symbols of Ukraine’s communist past

Wacky Victorian women play behind a clothing screen, ca. 1900.

Cool Finds

Researchers Seek Silly Sherlocks to Dig up Victorian-Era Jokes

Joke detectives are using the British Library to uncover what made Victorians chuckle

Detail from King Tut's throne

New Research

New Evidence Shows King Tut's Tomb May Have Its Own Chamber of Secrets

Scans in the boy-king's tomb reveal there may be two rooms beyond its walls that contain metal and organic objects

Cool Finds

MAD Magazine’s Iconic Alfred E. Neuman Turns 60 This Year

The impish mascot has had a long, colorful life

Some of the divers from Blue Water Recoveries excavating artifacts from the wreck of the Esmeralda

Trending Today

Found: 500-Year-Old Portuguese Shipwreck From Famed Explorer's Fleet

A warship from the famous navigator Vasco da Gama’s fleet has been excavated in the waters off Al Hallaniyah island in Oman

Cool Finds

World War II Survivor Tips Off Geologists to Hidden Tunnels Beneath Naples

The forgotten tunnels were used as bomb shelters

A fresco uncovered in a tavern in Pompeii shows patrons playing a game. Similar scenes probably took place in a Roman tavern recently unearthed in Lattara, an ancient port city in southern France

Cool Finds

2,100-Year-Old Roman Tavern Unearthed, Empty Cups and All

The proposed ancient bar and grill in southern France could shed light on the spread of Roman culture

Walt Whitman spent much of the Civil War in hospitals, cheering up wounded soldiers and writing letters on their behalf.

Cool Finds

A Rare Walt Whitman Letter Was Found in the National Archives

The poet wrote the letter on behalf of a dying soldier

Peter Strien was 21 years old when he was wounded at the battle of Fort Steadman.

Cool Finds

These Eerie Civil War Photos Changed How the U.S. Saw Veterans

Reed Bontecou's groundbreaking photography used a new medium to bring attention to the wounds of war

The palace is surrounded by old-growth forest that seems to contain the oldest trees in Europe.

Found: The Biggest Collection of Ancient Oaks in Europe

The massive, old trees were hiding in plain sight in the woods of a spectacular mansion

Royall has fallen—Harvard Law School wants a new logo.

Trending Today

Harvard Law Will Ditch Its Signature Shield Because of Its Slaveholding Roots

Student protests upended another on-campus symbol of racism and forced labor

Cool Finds

Today’s Google Doodle Celebrates Electronic Music Pioneer Clara Rockmore

The theremin virtuosa would have been 105 years old today

Trending Today

Italy Thinks Its 'Za Should Be a United Nations Cultural Treasure

Italy wants its Neapolitan pizza to be added to Unesco's cultural heritage list

The suspected Confederate blockade runner found near the mouth of the Cape Fear River

Cool Finds

Civil War Blockade Runner Found in North Carolina Waters

Sonar scan finds possible remains of a Confederate steamship used to outrun the Union Navy

Trending Today

Italian City Bans New “Ethnic” Restaurants

Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet, is preventing new eateries from opening that primarily serve kebabs, gyros and fried food

New Research

440-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Fungi May Be The Oldest Land Dwellers Yet Discovered

Though not the oldest living creatures, these fungi may have paved the way for living creatures to take hold of the land

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