Smart News History & Archaeology

The migration paths that may have brought people across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.

The Very First Americans May Have Had European Roots

Some early Americans came not from Asia, it seems, but by way of Europe

U.S. paratroopers drop into Grenada

30 Years Ago Today, the U.S. Invaded Grenada

The conflict pit the U.S. military against Grenadian revolutionaries and the Cuban army

(Not the temple in question)

Ancient Buddhist Frescoes in China Got Painted Over with Cartoons

he temple affairs head and the the cultural heritage monitoring team lead have both lost their jobs, and the Communist party chief has been scolded

A High Schooler Discovered the Best Fossil Yet of a Baby Tube-Crested Dinosaur

The new fossil, nicknamed "Joe," sheds light on its species' characteristic tube-like head formation

This Map From 1812 Is Missing a Whole Continent

Back when America was small, Australia was "New Holland," and big chunks of the world seemingly didn't exist

Hotel Builders in New York Might Have Just Uncovered the Colonial-Era Bull’s Head Tavern

Developers in New York City may have just uncovered a tavern visited by George Washington, and written about by Washington Irving

You Can Buy the Violin That Played the Titanic Out

The violin of Wallace Hartley, a member of the on-board orchestra, is up for auction

Part of the city of Mohenjo Daro

The 4,500-Year-Old City of Mohenjo Daro Is Crumbling, And No One Is Stopping It

The ruins had been preserved for thousands of years, but now they're fading fast

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You Can Visit the World’s Oldest Zero at a Temple in India

Indian mathematicians were the first to treat zero as an equal

Ritual Attacks on People Living With Albinism Go Largely Uninvestigated

Around one in 1,000 people in some African ethnic groups are born with albinism

The Queen Mary Psalter, c 1310-1320

Why Were Medieval Knights Always Fighting Snails?

It's a common scene in medieval marginalia. But what does it mean?

An Aztec calendar sun stone

Oxford University Is Older Than the Aztecs

The historical timeline you keep in your head is all messed up

The Earliest Libraries-on-Wheels Looked Way Cooler Than Today’s Bookmobiles

These traveling libraries used to travel around bringing books to the people

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Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the Second American to Orbit the Planet, Dies at 88

John Glenn, who was a close friend to Carpenter, is now the last surviving astronaut from NASA's Project Mercury, the original space program

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In Ancient Rome, Purple Dye Was Made from Snails

By boiling them in lead vats, purple dye was extracted from snails to make Tyrian purple

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Times of Famine Linked to Disproportionate Number of Female Births

Cultural factors like selective abortions de not explain the trend, rather it seems evolutionary biology does

Ancient Women Artists May Be Responsible for Most Cave Art

Previously, most researchers assumed that the people behind these mysterious artworks must have been men, but they were wrong

Want Your Mugshot Off the Internet? You’ll Have to Pay Up

Some companies are profiting off of mugshots - posting them on the internet for sale

Two women operating ENIAC

Computer Programming Used To Be Women’s Work

Computer programmers are expected to be male and antisocial - an self-fulfilling prophecy that forgets the women that the entire field was built upon

Major General Edwin Walker

Before JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald Tried to Kill an Army Major General

Seven months before he shot President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald tried to kill Major General Edwin Walker

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