Why 18th-Century Americans Were Just as Obsessed With Their Genealogy as We Are Today
People living in British America and later the nascent United States recorded their family histories in needlework samplers, notebooks and newspapers
Archaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in Belize
Te K’ab Chaak was a wealthy warrior king who rose to power in 331 C.E. His burial is the first royal tomb found in the ancient city of Caracol
Neanderthals May Have Been Running a Sophisticated ‘Fat Factory’ in Germany 125,000 Years Ago
New research suggests that they smashed animal bones into tiny pieces before boiling them to extract the high-calorie grease inside
This Museum Is Asking Visitors Whether It Should Continue to Display Mummified Human Remains
The Manchester Museum in England is inviting guests to share feedback on Asru, an ancient Egyptian woman whose body was unwrapped 200 years ago
Scientists Have Sequenced an Ancient Egyptian Skeleton’s Entire Genome for the Very First Time. Here’s What They Found
Dating back more than 4,500 years, the skeleton belonged to a middle-aged man who may have worked as a potter and likely descended from ancestors in North Africa and Mesopotamia
Four Bewildering Bronze Lions’ Heads With Slightly Different Facial Expressions Found in Ancient Roman Grave in Israel
Similar examples of ancient lion artifacts appear to have been used as door knockers. But the newly discovered discs may have served a different purpose
Fishermen in the Brazilian Amazon Discover Enormous Funerary Urns Beneath a Toppled Tree
The ceramic vessels contained the bones of pre-Columbian Indigenous people, as well as fish, frog and turtle remains
How a Deadly Circus Fire on the ‘Day the Clowns Cried’ Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reforms
On July 6, 1944, a blaze broke out at a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show in Hartford, Connecticut. At least 167 people died, and hundreds were injured
Gas Workers Digging Beneath the Streets of Lima Stumble Upon 1,000-Year-Old Mummy With Dark Brown Hair
The burial belonged to a child who may have lived among fishermen from the Chancay culture, which thrived in Peru before the rise of the Inca Empire
Ancient DNA Reveals That Men Moved in With Their Brides’ Families in This Neolithic Settlement
A new study suggests that a 9,000-year-old society in Catalhoyuk, a proto-city in southern Anatolia, may have established a “female-centered” social structure
This Young Woman With a Cone-Shaped Skull Died After Suffering a Severe Head Wound 6,000 Years Ago
Found in the Chega Sofla cemetery in Iran, the skull appears to have been struck by a blunt object. Archaeologists don’t know whether the incident was intentional or accidental
A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat in Persia. His Death Shaped U.S.-Iran Relations for Decades
The July 1924 killing of Robert Imbrie fueled the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and set the stage for both a CIA-backed 1953 coup and the 1979 Iran hostage crisis
The Man Who Invented the Modern Zoo Tested Out His Ideas on People First
Carl Hagenbeck believed that animals should be housed in habitats that mimicked their natural environment. Earlier, he’d followed the same guiding philosophy when exhibiting Indigenous people in “human zoos”
Scavenger Animals Are in Trouble, and That Could Spell Bad News for Human Health
More than one-third of species that eat some amount of carrion are threatened or declining, a new analysis finds, and that could lead to a rise in zoonotic diseases
This Viking Woman Was Buried With a Small Dog at Her Feet 1,000 Years Ago
Archaeologists unearthed the burial site during excavations in Norway. They say the discovery provides unique insights into the bonds humans form with their animals
This Forgotten Founding Father Hoped to ‘Die Up to My Knees in Blood’ in the Fight for American Independence. He Got His Wish
Joseph Warren was a key leader of the American Revolution, mobilizing troops and managing a circle of spies. But he’s mainly remembered for his death at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775
Ancient Sarcophagus Unearthed in Israel Portrays an Epic Drinking Contest Between the God Dionysus and the Mythical Hero Hercules
Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaics
Two Wildlife Tunnels Are Saving Thousands of Amphibians From Being Crushed by Cars in Vermont
New research finds a pair of underpasses installed under a road that crosses a migration corridor have led to an 80.2 percent reduction in amphibian deaths
The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America’s Shores
Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the process
A Fungal Disease Ravaged North American Bats. Now, Researchers Found a Second Species That Suggests It Could Happen Again
White-nose syndrome caused millions of bat deaths, and scientists are sounding the alarm that a second fungus could be disastrous if it reaches American wildlife
Page 1 of 65