https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/african-history/RSS feed for African HistoryenFri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-graveyard-of-shipwrecks-between-europe-and-africa-archaeologists-discovered-vessels-doomed-over-thousands-of-years-180988605/The "harbor" of the Strait of Gibraltar is the final resting place for shipwrecks from ancient Rome, the medieval era and World War II, according to a new archaeological surveyFri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-graveyard-of-shipwrecks-between-europe-and-africa-archaeologists-discovered-vessels-doomed-over-thousands-of-years-180988605/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-how-scientists-reconstructed-the-face-of-little-foot-a-human-ancestor-who-lived-3-67-million-years-ago-180988299/For the first time, researchers have digitally reconstructed the facial fragments of the individual, who belonged to the Australopithecus genusTue, 10 Mar 2026 15:55:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-how-scientists-reconstructed-the-face-of-little-foot-a-human-ancestor-who-lived-3-67-million-years-ago-180988299/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-intricately-decorated-ostrich-eggshells-suggest-our-ancestors-may-have-understood-basic-geometry-60000-years-ago-180988315/The lines, right angles and other mysterious designs required careful planning and robust cognitive abilities, according to a new studyMon, 09 Mar 2026 14:00:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-intricately-decorated-ostrich-eggshells-suggest-our-ancestors-may-have-understood-basic-geometry-60000-years-ago-180988315/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sahara-desert-hasnt-always-been-dry-desolate-landscape-some-scientists-see-signs-greening-again-180988098/Petroglyphs on sandstone at a national park in Chad bear witness to wildlife that once roamed the area before the continent’s water largely receded 6,000 years ago. Could it return?Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sahara-desert-hasnt-always-been-dry-desolate-landscape-some-scientists-see-signs-greening-again-180988098/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-white-historian-claimed-that-black-people-had-no-history-this-trailblazing-scholar-dedicated-his-life-to-proving-otherwise-180988144/Carter G. Woodson, the "father of Black history," founded the celebration now known as Black History Month in 1926. A prolific writer and activist, he viewed his efforts to educate the public as a "life-and-death struggle"Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-white-historian-claimed-that-black-people-had-no-history-this-trailblazing-scholar-dedicated-his-life-to-proving-otherwise-180988144/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dozens-of-items-that-once-belonged-to-nelson-mandela-can-head-to-auction-south-african-court-rules-180988101/The collection includes shirts, sunglasses, a signed copy of South Africa's first post-apartheid constitution and a prison key from Robben IslandThu, 29 Jan 2026 21:43:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dozens-of-items-that-once-belonged-to-nelson-mandela-can-head-to-auction-south-african-court-rules-180988101/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-groundbreaking-new-showcase-of-nearly-60-works-is-the-biggest-ever-exhibition-of-lgbtq-african-art-180988095/One of its co-curators wants historians to expand on the display and “write a proper history” of this artistryThu, 29 Jan 2026 19:00:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-groundbreaking-new-showcase-of-nearly-60-works-is-the-biggest-ever-exhibition-of-lgbtq-african-art-180988095/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-british-crown-enslaved-thousands-at-the-height-of-the-trans-atlantic-slave-trade-new-research-reveals-their-stories-180988005/A leading historian examines how the monarchy not only tolerated slavery but also administered it, profited from it and sanctioned its crueltiesMon, 26 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-british-crown-enslaved-thousands-at-the-height-of-the-trans-atlantic-slave-trade-new-research-reveals-their-stories-180988005/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fourteen-years-after-gaddafis-fall-libya-reopens-its-national-museum-to-much-fanfare-180987901/Among the museum’s artifacts, which were hidden during the long closure, are a 5,400-year-old mummy and remnants from the Roman Empire’s North African citiesThu, 18 Dec 2025 21:10:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fourteen-years-after-gaddafis-fall-libya-reopens-its-national-museum-to-much-fanfare-180987901/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-disturbing-16th-century-painting-of-hell-linked-satan-and-his-demons-with-the-new-world-beyond-europe-180987547/The panel features monsters with African, Indigenous Caribbean and intersex features, encouraging viewers to connect the sins and punishments depicted to those considered "other"Mon, 27 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-disturbing-16th-century-painting-of-hell-linked-satan-and-his-demons-with-the-new-world-beyond-europe-180987547/