Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Archaeology

One of the human bone points analyzed in the study, found by Willy van Wingerden in January of 2017.

Ancient European Hunters Carved Human Bones Into Weapons

Scientists suggest 10,000-year-old barbed points washed up on Dutch beaches were made for cultural reasons

Authorities grew suspicious of the man after he claimed to have found 14,000 Roman coins in a Belgian orchard.

Officials Seize 27,400 Artifacts Looted by a Single French Treasure Hunter

The unidentified man accumulated a sizable collection of ancient coins, jewelry, accessories and sculptures

The team's findings reflect the toll of the ivory trade and habitat destruction.

Ivory From 16th-Century Shipwreck Yields Clues to African Elephants’ Decline

Researchers extracted DNA from tusks found in the wreckage of the “Bom Jesus,” a treasure-laden vessel that sank in 1533

A new, noninvasive technique allows researchers to study mummies without damaging them.

Researchers Reveal Mummy’s Surprising Contents Without Unwrapping It

Technique described in a new study combines X-ray and CT scans to examine remains without damaging them

A curatorial assistant found the wood fragments in a misfiled cigar box bearing the image of Egypt's old flag.

Cool Finds

Missing Great Pyramid Artifact Found in Cigar Box in Scotland

The wood fragments—among just three items ever taken from the Giza tomb—date to the fourth millennium B.C.

This rare Anglo Saxon cross spent more than 1,000 years buried in a Scottish field. Left: the cross pre-conservation, and right: the cross mid-cleaning

Cool Finds

Freed of 1,000 Years of Grime, Anglo-Saxon Cross Emerges in Stunning Detail

Conservation revealed the artifact, discovered with Scotland’s Galloway Hoard, as an example of intricate Viking-era metalwork

Sequencing entire genomes from ancient tissues helps researchers reveal the evolutionary and domestication histories of species.

Smithsonian Voices

How Ancient DNA Unearths Corn’s A-Maize-ing History

New study shows how extracting whole genomes from ancient material opens the door for new research questions and breathes new life into old samples

Arranged in symbolically significant ways with no clear hierarchy, the villages’ circular layouts may reflect their Indigenous inhabitants’ conceptions of the cosmos.

Cool Finds

These Amazonian Villages Were Laid Out Like Clock Faces

Scientists used LiDAR to investigate the ruins of 14th- to 18th-century Indigenous communities in Brazil

The bones likely belong to people sacrificed during the reign of Ahuízotl, eighth king of the Aztecs.

Cool Finds

The Aztecs Constructed This Tower Out of Hundreds of Human Skulls

Researchers in Mexico City recently discovered a new section of a macabre late 15th-century structure

A family in southern England found the trove of 64 coins while gardening.

Cool Finds

Gardeners Unearth Coins Inscribed With Initials of Henry VIII’s First Three Wives

The find is one of more than 47,000 recorded by the U.K.’s Portable Antiquities Scheme in 2020

The mosaic reflects a decline in craftsmanship but is still intricately made.

Cool Finds

Stunning Mosaic Found in England Shows Some Lived in Luxury During ‘Dark Ages’

The fifth-century artwork suggests that the British Isles experienced a gradual, not sudden, decline following the Romans’ departure

An ice core extracted at El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico connects water collection to periods of droughts.

Cool Finds

Ancestral Puebloans Survived Droughts by Collecting Water From Icy Lava Tubes

In ancient New Mexico, cold air in cavernous spaces carved out by lava flows preserved blocks of ice

A team of divers found this rusted—but still recognizable—Enigma cipher machine at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Nazis used the device to encode secret military messages during WWII.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Nazi Enigma Machine Thrown Into the Baltic Sea During WWII

German forces used the device—likely cast into the water to avoid falling into Allied hands—to encode military messages

The Vale of York Hoard, a major trove of Viking artifacts discovered in 2007 in North Yorkshire. The hoard—likely buried around 920 A.D.—included 617 silver coins, a Frankish silver cup and Viking jewelry.

To Protect Its Rare Artifacts, the U.K. Proposes Revised Definition of ‘Treasure’

New standards will ensure significant archaeological finds remain publicly accessible for study and enjoyment, the government says

Trench fever came to prominence during World War I, but new research suggests that the disease afflicted people long before the 20th century.

Before WWI, Trench Fever Plagued the Ancient Romans and Napoleonic Soldiers

Long associated with the Great War, the disease actually dates back at least 2,000 years, a new study suggests

The altar's inscription suggests pilgrims traveled great distances to reach the religious site.

Cool Finds

Altar to Ancient Greek God Pan Found Embedded in Wall of Byzantine Church

Christians in what is now northern Israel may have repurposed the basalt structure as a deliberate affront to pagan worshippers

Early Puebloans wove turkey feathers into yucca fiber to make the blanket.

In the Ancient American Southwest, Turkeys Were Friends, Not Food

An 800-year-old blanket made out of turkey feathers testifies to the bird’s significance in Pueblo culture

A map of Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe

Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe

New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland

Ancient artists created the works between 12,600 and 11,800 years ago.

Cool Finds

Tens of Thousands of 12,000-Year-Old Rock Paintings Found in Colombia

The images—heralded by researchers as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”—depict animals, humans and geometric patterns

A new book Incredible Archaeology: Inspiring Places From Our Human Past, out this month from Smithsonian Books, explores some of the world's most spectacular ancient wonders.

Twelve Ancient and Enduring Places Around the World

From Smithsonian Books, towering temples, dramatic works of art and early settlements that have stood the test of time

Page 86 of 125