Smart News History & Archaeology

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

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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.

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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.

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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

New Research

Domesticated Dogs Helped Kill Mammoths

Massive mammoth kills in Europe might have required collaboration between humans and early domesticated dogs

Petroglyphs in Utah

Cool Finds

Prehistoric Rock Art Defaced in Utah

Visitors to Nine Mile Canyon decided to leave more than footprints at the longest art gallery in the world

New Research

More Than 200 Hidden Paintings Were Discovered on the Walls of Angkor Wat

Researchers discovered the images by digitally enhancing photos of the temple's walls

Cool Finds

Using GIS to Factcheck Julius Caesar's Account of the Gallic Wars

Scientists are using modern technology to check whether Julius Caesar's accounting of Roman history was accurate

Cool Finds

You Could Smell Like A Viking

York has come up with a new tourism stunt: smell like a Viking

Cool Finds

Europe Has Its Own Bison Species That Came Back From the Brink of Extinction

Bison were just reintroduced into a stretch of Romania where they haven't been found for two centuries

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