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Artifacts

DNA from Richard III’s bones revealed two instances of royal infidelity since the 14th century.

They Found Richard III. So Now What?

What the remains of the “hunchback” king can teach us about other English royals

The weapon that shot Abraham Lincoln

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Blood Relics From the Lincoln Assassination

Even now, 150 years later, objects from the murder of the president provide a powerful link to the event

Fighting in Aleppo in 2013

Trending Today

Can Antiquities Looting in Syria Be Stopped?

The Islamic State is selling antiquities to fund their fight, now a secretive group is trying to protect those cultural treasures

A detail of one of four known existing originals of the 1297 version of the Magna Carta.

Cool Finds

An Early Copy of the Magna Carta Was Found Forgotten in an Old Scrapbook

An archivist in England stumbled upon a 715-year-old edition of the charter credited for initiating a new framework of governance

The sleek 11-foot model of the Enterprise had been seen in the 1966-69 television series Star Trek.

A Feisty Capt. James T. Kirk Checks in on the Starship ‘Enterprise’

When the model for the TV show Star Trek was removed for conservation at the National Air and Space Museum, the actor William Shatner weighed in

History’s most impressive hoard of ancient Greek artifacts includes numerous amphoras, terra-cotta lamps, glass vessels, coins, jewelry and statues.

Exploring the Titanic of the Ancient World

Scientists search the wine-dark sea for the remains of a ship that sank 2,000 years ago—carrying what is believed to be the world’s first computer

The ancient artifact was found in a field and used as a doorstop for years before being identified as a rare ceremonial dirk.

Cool Finds

This 3,500-Year-Old Dagger Made a Really Great Doorstop

One man’s doorstop is another man’s rare, ancient artifact

Asked to choose one artifact, the Smithsonian's Undersecretary for Arts, History and Culture Richard Kurin selected this spinning wheel from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

For Every Object, There Is a Story to Tell

A Smithsonian curator is asked to select just one artifact

Scientists found deliberate scratching on a fossil Pseudodon, likely an engraving made by Homo erectus at Trinil in Indonesia.

New Research

Zigzags on a Shell From Java Are the Oldest Human Engravings

The early human Homo erectus also made the oldest known shell tools half a million years ago

The earliest surviving photograph, taken in 1826 or 1827, titled View from the Window at Le Gras.

Armenia: Smithsonian Guide

Where to See the Oldest Artifacts in the World

From a royal soccer ball to a very old book, see humanity’s history of innovation in ten amazing everyday objects

Archaeologists Ben Potter and Josh Reuther, both of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, excavate the burial pit at the Upward Sun River site.

Ice Age Babies Surrounded by Weapon Parts Found in Alaska

Unearthed at an ancient hunting camp in Alaska, the infant remains are offering clues to the burial rites of early Americans

Ten-year-old Noah Cordle visited the National Museum of Natural History on November 3 to donate a Clovis point he found in New Jersey. He and his parents (right) met with the museum's Dennis Stanford (left).

This Fifth Grader Found a 14,000-Year-Old Clovis Point, Likely Unearthed From Hurricane Sandy

Noah Cordle was boogie boarding in New Jersey when he came upon an ancient hunting tool

Photograph of Robert E Lee's Arlington house taken in 1861

Cool Finds

Rare Photo of Robert E. Lee’s Slave Acquired by National Park Service

The photograph of Selina Gray and her children sold on eBay for $700

Replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria sail Past Cape Canaveral in 1992

Cool Finds

Shipwreck Probably Not Santa Maria

Shipwreck found off the coast of Haiti is probably not Santa Maria

Vice-grips Fossil (detail), 2014, wood, oil paint, polyurethane, pigment, marble dust, cast plastic.

Anthropocene

What Will We Leave in the Fossil Record?

Artist Erik Hagen considers the remnants of modern human life that may be found in rock strata millions of years from now

Distinctive gold cuff links provided a recognition signal between Soviet mole Pyotr Popov and his CIA contacts.

A Private Tour of the CIA’s Incredible Museum

Inside the agency’s headquarters is a museum filled with relics from half a century of cloak-and-dagger exploits

"I instinctively distrusted the food," Hess wrote. An American psychiatrist would later marvel at the "colossal naiveté of this Nazi mind."

Rudolf Hess’ Tale of Poison, Paranoia and Tragedy

Why are packets of food that belong to the Nazi war criminal sitting in a Maryland basement?

Bush Barrow was the original resting place of the intricate gold-studded dagger that researchers now believe was crafted by children.

Cool Finds

One of the U.K.’s Most Extraordinary Artifacts Was Likely Made by Children

The intricate work found on a dagger in 1808 was likely done by children

The pyramids of Giza were constructed between 2575 and 2465 BC. The monument in Israel dates to between 3050 and 2650 BC.

Cool Finds

Huge Structure in Israel Older Than Pyramids

The crescent-shaped stone pile may once have been a border marker

A Persian calligraphy that developed in 14th-century Iran, nasta'liq, is the focus of a new exhibition at the Sackler Gallery. The script in this work dates to the early 1600s.

Long Before Emojis, the Picassos of Persian Calligraphy Brought Emotion to Writing

The world’s first exhibition devoted to nasta’liq, a Persian calligraphy, is now on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

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