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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

This elaborate dance mask (ca. 1900) with representations of a spirit, seal, fish, and bird held in a human hand, was made by a Yup’ik artist from Alaska and is part of a group of Native American artworks that will soon be integrated into the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing.

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The Met Will Finally Integrate Some Native American Art Into Its American Wing

Until now, indigenous art has lived in its own section

In the years after the Surgeon General confirmed the link between smoking and cancer, smoking cessation aids blossomed.

This Patented Smoking Deterrent Made Little Coughing Noises

The history of smoking cessation aids has a few funny detours like this one

Part of the seized "Supergun," now at a museum in England.

The Bizarre Story of Saddam Hussein’s Failed “Supergun”

It was called “Big Babylon” and it was originally supposed to fire satellites into orbit

This really old statue has a surprisingly modern tale to tell.

Cool Finds

This 3,500-Year-Old Statue of a Syrian Refugee Remains One of Archaeology’s Most Important Finds

King Idrimi is getting digitized and his autobiography is as relevant as ever

Marine Le Pen Denies State’s Role in Deporting French Jews During WWII

Approximately 13,000 Jews were arrested by French authorities in July of 1942

The Meiji Emperor, who issued an influential educational announcement in 1890, poses with the imperial family.

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Japan Will Allow Its Schools to Use a Controversial 19th-Century Imperial Text

The educational edict was banned after World War II for serving military and nationalistic purposes

The Eighteenth-Century Founder of Homeopathy Said His Treatments Were Better Than Bloodletting

Samuel Hahnemann was trying to fix the unscientific field of medicine

The caption to this cartoon from 'Scribner's Monthly' reads "Henry Bergh on Duty"

The ASPCA’s Founder Was Known as “The Great Meddler”

Although Bergh’s efforts to prevent animal cruelty weren’t well-received by all, the ASPCA did change how animals were seen in the United States

Don't worry: It's beef.

New Research

New Study Fleshes Out the Nutritional Value of Human Meat

The caloric value of the human body is surprisingly low compared to other prehistoric food options

Heritage scientist Cecilia Bembibre captures the smell of a 18th-century bible at Knole House.

New Research

The Quest to Better Describe the Scent of Old Books

Describing a unique smell just got easier thanks to a pair of olfactory detectives

Entrance into the newly discovered pyramid

Cool Finds

New Pyramid Discovered in Egypt

Earlier this week the interior structure of pyramid was uncovered at the Dahshur Necropolis, home to some of Egypt’s earliest pyramids

David Fairchild in 1940, tasting the fruit of an antidesma tree in Indonesia.

This Swashbuckling Botanist Changed America’s Landscapes

Not always for the better

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

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Smithsonian and Library of Congress Purchase Rare 1860s Photo of Harriet Tubman

Part of an album of 44 photos of prominent abolitionists, the unique photo was recently acquired at auction

Bevo, Anheuser-Busch's "cereal beer" or "near-beer," was the most popular of non-alcoholic malt beverages sold during Prohibition.

How Some Breweries Survived Prohibition

It mostly involved playing to their non-alcoholic strengths

Clothes moth larvae are snacking on history.

Moths Are Nibbling Away at England’s Heritage Sites

Let “Operation Clothes Moths” commence

New Research

Artifacts Found in Indonesian Cave Show Complexities of Ice Age Culture

Pendants and buttons as well as carvings suggest the inhabitants of Wallacea were as advanced as Europeans during the Ice Age

Before World War II, almost every Dutch village had a wooden shoe maker.

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Only 30 Dutch Wooden Shoe Makers Remain

The traditional trade is in trouble

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan meet with the Beach Boys a few months after Reagan's Secretary of the Interior announced that rock bands attracted "the wrong element."

The Secretary of the Interior Once Banned Rock Bands From the National Mall

James Watt, who was outed from office in the early 1980s, said the only songs he knew were ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ and ‘Amazing Grace’

The interesting thing is that it doesn't sound like people minded much.

Once Upon a Time, Exploding Billiard Balls Were An Everyday Thing

It was a side effect of no longer making them from ivory

Kaboom.

Your Alaskan Cruise Is Possible Because Canada Blew Up an Underwater Mountain

People predicted tsunamis and an earthquake, but nothing particularly bad happened

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