South Africa | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/south-africa/RSS feed for South AfricaenThu, 29 Jan 2026 21:43:12 +0000Dozens of Items That Once Belonged to Nelson Mandela Can Head to Auction, South African Court Ruleshttps://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/Archaeologists Just Discovered the Oldest Known Evidence of Poison Arrows, Which Hunters Used to Slow Down Their Prey 60,000 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-just-discovered-the-oldest-known-evidence-of-poison-arrows-which-hunters-used-to-slow-down-their-prey-60000-years-ago-180987973/New research reveals traces of plant toxins on arrow tips in South Africa, suggesting that the technique was used tens of thousands of years earlier than scientists thoughtFri, 09 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-just-discovered-the-oldest-known-evidence-of-poison-arrows-which-hunters-used-to-slow-down-their-prey-60000-years-ago-180987973/The High-Stakes Quest to Make Snakebites Survivable Took Leaps Forward This Year, With Promising New Avenues to Safer Antivenomshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-high-stakes-quest-to-make-snakebites-survivable-took-leaps-forward-this-year-with-promising-new-avenues-to-safer-antivenoms-180987876/A wave of fresh science is challenging a century-old treatment and offering hope to the people snakebites harm most—often far from hospitals and helpTue, 16 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-high-stakes-quest-to-make-snakebites-survivable-took-leaps-forward-this-year-with-promising-new-avenues-to-safer-antivenoms-180987876/In South Africa, a Smart Gate Could Help Connect Elephants' Fragmented Habitathttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/in-south-africa-a-smart-gate-could-help-connect-elephants-fragmented-habitat-180986841/An unlikely quartet’s clever contraption may allow the pachyderms to make better use of their rangeTue, 24 Jun 2025 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/in-south-africa-a-smart-gate-could-help-connect-elephants-fragmented-habitat-180986841/Dehorning Rhinos Curbs Poaching, New Study Findshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dehorning-rhinos-curbs-poaching-new-study-finds-180986760/Researchers in South Africa find that cutting the animals' horns reduces poaching by almost 80 percentMon, 09 Jun 2025 18:28:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dehorning-rhinos-curbs-poaching-new-study-finds-180986760/Scientists Investigate 2.2-Million-Year-Old Tooth Enamel to Unravel the Mysteries of Ancient Human Relativeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-investigate-22-million-year-old-tooth-enamel-to-unravel-the-mysteries-of-ancient-human-relatives-180986723/By studying proteins preserved in teeth, researchers determined the sex of four Paranthropus robustus individuals that lived in southern AfricaFri, 30 May 2025 21:02:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-investigate-22-million-year-old-tooth-enamel-to-unravel-the-mysteries-of-ancient-human-relatives-180986723/The Death of a Sports Legend on This Day in 1993 Changed How Americans Viewed AIDShttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-death-of-a-sports-legend-on-this-day-in-1993-changed-how-americans-viewed-aids-180985966/Tennis star Arthur Ashe achieved many firsts as a Black athlete. In the months leading up to his death, he thrust AIDS advocacy into the mainstreamThu, 06 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-death-of-a-sports-legend-on-this-day-in-1993-changed-how-americans-viewed-aids-180985966/A Mysterious Shipwreck Rests Just 20 Feet Below the Surface. It May Be Connected to Vasco da Gama's Final Voyagehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-mysterious-shipwreck-rests-just-20-feet-below-the-surface-it-may-be-connected-to-vasco-da-gamas-final-voyage-180985563/Researchers think a coral-covered vessel discovered off the Kenyan coast could be the "São Jorge," a galleon that sank 500 years agoTue, 03 Dec 2024 17:48:13 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-mysterious-shipwreck-rests-just-20-feet-below-the-surface-it-may-be-connected-to-vasco-da-gamas-final-voyage-180985563/A Giant Meteorite Ripped Up the Seafloor and Boiled Earth's Oceans 3.26 Billion Years Ago. Then, Life Blossomed in Its Wakehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-giant-meteorite-boiled-earths-oceans-and-ripped-up-the-seafloor-326-billion-years-ago-then-life-blossomed-in-its-wake-180985336/Geologists suggest the catastrophic impact of "S2" delivered key nutrients to the oceans, prompting microorganisms to thriveFri, 25 Oct 2024 19:01:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-giant-meteorite-boiled-earths-oceans-and-ripped-up-the-seafloor-326-billion-years-ago-then-life-blossomed-in-its-wake-180985336/Slow-Motion Ripples in Earth's Mantle Built Mysterious and Stunning Highland Landscapes, Study Findshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/slow-motion-ripples-in-earths-mantle-built-mysterious-and-stunning-highland-landscapes-study-finds-180984860/Following the break-up of an ancient supercontinent, waves propagated through the hot, rocky layer beneath the planet's brittle crust and reshaped its surface over millions of yearsTue, 13 Aug 2024 18:10:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/slow-motion-ripples-in-earths-mantle-built-mysterious-and-stunning-highland-landscapes-study-finds-180984860/