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Farming

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

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Smithsonian Voices

Our Thanksgiving Menu Has Lost a Few Crops

Studying the domestication of any crop that people once ate helps scientists reveal how modern crops have evolved

A view inside the Asian giant hornet nest that Washington State entomologists destroyed last month.

Asian Giant Hornet Nest May Have Contained 200 Queens

Officials say they’ve counted roughly 500 hornets in various stages of development after examining a nest they found and destroyed last month

A new chili pepper-shaped device that connect with a smartphone to reveal how much capsaicin is in a hot pepper.

New Research

This Chili-Shaped Smartphone Accessory Can Measure a Pepper’s Spiciness

New device can measure concentrations of capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their burning heat

Farms have been processing their heritage turkeys earlier to keep them small.

Turkey Farmers Scramble to Meet Need for Smaller Thanksgiving Birds

They’ll just be thankful when the year is over

A satellite image of the Noordoostpolder, a Dutch municipality where the four settlements were found

Cool Finds

Dutch Archaeologist Discovers Traces of Four Submerged Medieval Settlements

A five-year research project yielded the locations of several long-forgotten villages

Buried farm machinery in Dallas, South Dakota during the Dust Bowl in 1936.

New Research

Are the Great Plains Headed for Another Dust Bowl?

Researchers say atmospheric dust in the region has doubled in the last 20 years, suggesting the increasingly dry region is losing more soil skyward

Xanthia DeBerry, with her daughters Angelica and Aniaya, is part of the seed saving project.

New Project Aims to Revive Ozark Cuisine Through Seeds

St. Louis chef Rob Connoley looks to reconnect black farmers to heritage crops, using records from a 19th century seed store

Archaeologists unearthed shards of pottery, wine jugs, floor tiles and traces of crops, among other artifacts.

Cool Finds

Sourdough Bread Oven, ‘Air Freshener’ Found at Medieval Irish Monastery

During the 13th century, French monks created a Cistercian community at Beamore in County Meath

The spotted lanternfly has landed. This adult was seen in Pennsylvania, hard hit by the alien species.

Can Scientists Stop the Plague of the Spotted Lanternfly?

The voracious, shape-shifting insect native to Asia is attacking crops, vineyards and trees

Beets can be used to dye fabric red or pink.

How to Make Clothing Dye With Excess Fruits and Vegetables From Your Garden

Here are step-by-step instructions for giving your clothes and food scraps a second life

New research suggests painting eyes on cattle behinds can help protect them from predators.

New Research

Painting Eyes on Cow Butts Could Save Cattle and Lion Lives

The four-year study in Botswana found cattle with eye marks painted on their behinds were less likely to be killed by predators

A wild bumble bee seen pollinating a blueberry bush.

New Research

Wild Bees Are Worth $1.5 Billion for Six U.S. Crops

Study also finds that crop yields are often limited by a lack of pollinators

Researchers unearthed this bison-bone hoe in Manitoba, Canada.

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Gardening Hoes Made of Bison Bone Found in Canada

The tools provide evidence that the region’s Indigenous population practiced agriculture pre-European contact

A farmer distributes lime over a field in the UK. A new climate solution would use a similar technique to spread rock dust.

Rock Dust Could Be Farming’s Next Climate Solution

The process, called enhanced weathering, could remove 2 billion tons of CO2 from the air while fertilizing soil

A visual representation of global methane from January 26, 2018. Red areas indicate higher concentrations of methane swirling in the atmosphere.

New Research

World Methane Emissions Hit New High

Agriculture and fossil fuels drive a surge in global emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas

FARMstead ED pairs visitors with onsite and educational hands-on farm experiences throughout California's San Luis Obispo County.

Covid-19

Small Farms Find Creative Ways to Attract Visitors During the Coronavirus Pandemic

From curbside produce pickup to reservation-only classes, farms are adapting to make ends meet

Researchers tested their pollen-carrying bubbles on lily, azalea and campanula flowers (shown).

New Research

Soap Bubbles Can Pollinate Flowers, but Can They Replace Bees?

New research shows that carefully calibrated soap bubbles cause pear trees to bear fruit

The earliest evidence of mice making themselves at home alongside human settlements comes from 14,500-year-old bones found among the Natufians.

The House Mouse First Invaded Europe 6,500 Years Ago

New research suggests the rodents arrived on the continent some 2,500 years earlier than previously thought

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