Minerals | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/minerals/RSS feed for MineralsenThu, 16 Jul 2026 20:04:05 +0000This Meteorite Crashed Into a New Jersey Home in 2024. Now, Scientists Say It Contains Some of the Building Blocks of Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-meteorite-crashed-into-a-new-jersey-home-in-2024-now-scientists-say-it-contains-some-of-the-building-blocks-of-life-180989138/The Hillsborough meteorite belongs to a rare class of rocks from space, according to a new study. It holds amino acids and other organic compounds, as well as evidence of salty waterThu, 16 Jul 2026 20:04:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-meteorite-crashed-into-a-new-jersey-home-in-2024-now-scientists-say-it-contains-some-of-the-building-blocks-of-life-180989138/A Century After Causing Controversy, Red Cave Markings in Wales Are Classified Again as Britain's Oldest Rock Arthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-century-after-causing-controversy-red-cave-markings-in-wales-are-classified-again-as-britains-oldest-rock-art-180988879/The team of scientists used modern dating methods to confirm an old hypothesis by the rock art’s initial discoverersTue, 02 Jun 2026 20:59:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-century-after-causing-controversy-red-cave-markings-in-wales-are-classified-again-as-britains-oldest-rock-art-180988879/Mysterious Green Rocks Discovered in a Remote Cave in Spain Might Be Signs of Prehistoric People Working With Copperhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-green-rocks-discovered-in-a-remote-cave-in-spain-might-be-signs-of-prehistoric-people-working-with-copper-180988706/The find challenges assumptions that people in the region thousands of years ago did not spend much time at high altitudesFri, 08 May 2026 17:42:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-green-rocks-discovered-in-a-remote-cave-in-spain-might-be-signs-of-prehistoric-people-working-with-copper-180988706/Scientists Still Don't Know How or When the Grand Canyon Formed. New Research May Hint at Its Ancient Originshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-still-dont-know-how-or-when-the-grand-canyon-formed-new-research-may-hint-at-its-ancient-origins-180988570/Researchers say the ancestral Colorado River formed an ancient lake in northern Arizona roughly 6.6 million years ago, which spilled out westward onto the landscape that would eventually become the Grand CanyonFri, 17 Apr 2026 19:11:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-still-dont-know-how-or-when-the-grand-canyon-formed-new-research-may-hint-at-its-ancient-origins-180988570/Chimps Seem to Love Crystals. Their Attraction Might Help Explain Humans' Obsession With the Shimmering Stoneshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimps-seem-to-love-crystals-their-attraction-might-help-explain-humans-obsession-with-the-shimmering-stones-180988303/Hominins have been collecting calcite and quartz for at least 780,000 years. A new study hints at whyFri, 06 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimps-seem-to-love-crystals-their-attraction-might-help-explain-humans-obsession-with-the-shimmering-stones-180988303/What Does This 150-Year-Old Bottle of Mystery Booze Taste Like? Fruity, With a Hint of Leatherhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-does-this-150-year-old-bottle-of-mystery-booze-taste-like-fruity-with-hint-leather-180988268/Experts in Utah recently sipped the murky liquid, which was found during excavations at a historic ski areaFri, 27 Feb 2026 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-does-this-150-year-old-bottle-of-mystery-booze-taste-like-fruity-with-hint-leather-180988268/These Archaeologists Set Out in Search of Animal Fat. Instead, They Found the Oldest Blue Pigment Ever Discovered in Europehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-archaeologists-set-out-in-search-animal-fat-instead-they-found-oldest-blue-pigment-ever-discovered-in-europe-180987438/Blue residue on a 13,000-year-old stone artifact, long believed to be an oil lamp, may paint a new picture of Paleolithic art and cultureThu, 02 Oct 2025 18:36:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-archaeologists-set-out-in-search-animal-fat-instead-they-found-oldest-blue-pigment-ever-discovered-in-europe-180987438/Why Is This Remote and Rugged River in Alaska Turning Orange?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-this-remote-and-rugged-river-in-alaska-turning-orange-180987431/New research suggests the Salmon River is full of toxic metals that are likely harming fish and other aquatic creaturesWed, 01 Oct 2025 20:56:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-this-remote-and-rugged-river-in-alaska-turning-orange-180987431/Rare Gold Nuggets Worth $700,000 Stolen From Paris' Natural History Museum in Brazen Heisthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-gold-nuggets-worth-700000-stolen-from-paris-natural-history-museum-in-brazen-heist-180987370/Discovered in their pure metallic form, the specimens were taken by "an extremely professional team," the museum's director saidThu, 18 Sep 2025 19:53:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-gold-nuggets-worth-700000-stolen-from-paris-natural-history-museum-in-brazen-heist-180987370/She Spent Three Weeks Digging for a Diamond for Her Engagement Ring—and Unearthed a 2.3-Carat Stunnerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/she-spent-three-weeks-digging-for-a-diamond-for-her-engagement-ring-and-unearthed-a-2-3-carat-stunner-180987254/When Micherre Fox and her boyfriend decided to get married, she flew to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to search for the diamond herselfThu, 28 Aug 2025 18:33:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/she-spent-three-weeks-digging-for-a-diamond-for-her-engagement-ring-and-unearthed-a-2-3-carat-stunner-180987254/