Smart News: History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine

Egyptian Princess May Have Been Buried in Newly Discovered Pyramid

An inscription suggests that the tomb once belonged to a pharaoh’s daughter

May 12, 2017

Franco's tomb features a 500-foot cross.

Franco’s reign of terror is over—but Spaniards are still making sense of his legacy

May 12, 2017

Today, apples are one of the most valuable fruit crops in the United States, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.

Apple Pie Is Not All That American

Neither apples nor the pie originally came from America, but Americans have made this dish their own

May 12, 2017

Henri IV depicted as Hercules vanquishing a hydra. All in a day's work.

The Second Life of Henri IV’s Severed Head

Whether it’s lying in the grave or sitting in a Paris bank vault, the monarch’s cranium has been the subject of much debate since his untimely demise

May 12, 2017

Funerary garden discovered by CSIC’s research team.

First Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Garden Found in Luxor

Researchers have theorized that lettuce and palm trees were once planted there to honor the dead

May 12, 2017

Learn why fudge like this is sold at every tourist attraction in the country

Why Does Every Tourist Attraction Sell Fudge?

One thing that places as different as Niagara Falls, Disneyland and Ellis Island have in common? Fudge

May 12, 2017

This law set the forced removal of Native Americans in the American Southeast into motion.

The Indian Removal Act is on display at the National Archives through June 14

May 12, 2017

Archivist have recently digitized a clip from a 1937 public speaking course, believed to be the oldest recording of the president

May 11, 2017

During World War II, the Associated Press brokered a photo exchange deal with the Third Reich.

A new report reveals more details about the Associated Press’ secret deal with the Third Reich

May 11, 2017

Songwriter Irving Berlin’s Interfaith Marriage Caused 1920s Gossip

The songwriter made headlines when he and writer Ellin Mackay got married against her millionaire father’s wishes

May 11, 2017

Savannah, Georgia during the Civil War. The southern landscape is often a key element of southern gothic fiction.

Why People Love Southern Gothic

From the 19th century to S-Town, it’s a compelling genre that’s as flawed as its most grotesque characters

May 11, 2017

The practical advice in the handbook was intended to help married couples from having too many children.

This Infamous 19th-Century Birth Control Pamphlet Got Its Writer Imprisoned

Charles Knowlton did three months hard labor and was fined $50

May 10, 2017

Botanists might see fruit, but to a tariff collector, there's nothing but vegetables here.

Tomatoes Have Legally Been Vegetables Since 1893

Okay, so it’s technically a fruit. But we don’t eat it like one

May 10, 2017

“Lost” 18th-Century Garden Found at Scottish Castle

Archaeologists believed that the garden had been demolished and buried during renovations of the sprawling estate

May 10, 2017

Ukraine's Jamala (right) at the press conference after she won Eurovision 2016 with "1944."

The Eurovision Song Contest Rocks Europe This Week. Here’s How It All Got Started

It was the idea of the European Broadcasting Union, who wanted to put the relatively new technology of television through its paces

May 9, 2017

Found: Pages From One of the First Books Printed in England

A librarian at the University of Reading discovered the 15th-century text buried in a box

May 9, 2017

A researchers examines some of the graves unearthed in 2013

The University hopes to remove the bodies and build a memorial and laboratory to study the former insane asylum patients

May 9, 2017

These parchment rolls at the Parliamentary Archives contain the Acts of the British parliament.

But the debate between traditionalists and modernists isn’t over

May 8, 2017

This memorial to the victims of Nazi Germany's "euthanasia" program was erected in Berlin in 2000.

A research society is still coming to grips with its past—and learning more about how the Third Reich targeted people with disabilities

May 5, 2017

From the outside, the James Beard House is easy to miss. But as they say, it's what's inside that counts.

This Unassuming NYC Home is the Legacy of America’s First Foodie

James Beard’s culinary philosophy helped shape American cuisine

May 5, 2017

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