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History

Researchers have used genomic sequencing to trace what they’re calling the “longest migration out of Africa.”

New Research

Scientists Use DNA to Trace Early Humans’ Footsteps From Asia to South America

Over thousands of years, humans from Eurasia trekked more than 12,400 miles to eventually reach the southernmost tip of South America, a new genetic investigation suggests

Newly transferred fragments of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts on view in Beijing on May 18

The Smithsonian Transfers Rare 2,300-Year-Old Silk Manuscripts to China

The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were smuggled into the United States in the 1940s. Scholars say they provide remarkable insights into ancient Chinese philosophy and religion

Volunteers and archaeologists rebuilt the tomb site, lifting massive stones with modern excavation tools.

This German Town Carefully Reconstructed a 5,500-Year-Old Megalithic Monument

After years of excavation and study, archaeologists have restored the Küsterberg burial site to its original layout to celebrate the annual European Day of Megalithic Culture

This ebony figurine was found in a child's grave.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Two Rare African Figurines in 1,500-Year-Old Christian Burials in Israel

The artifacts were buried in the graves of a young woman and child, who may have converted to Christianity in Africa before traveling to the region, researchers say

An ancient star map (not the document analyzed in the new research) unearthed in Dunhuang, China, in the seventh century C.E.

New Research

These Scientists Say They’ve Identified the Oldest Known Star Chart in the World

A new preprint suggests that an ancient Chinese star catalog dates to 355 B.C.E. But other researchers aren’t convinced, arguing that the original coordinates are misaligned by one degree

Notebooks decorated with swastikas were among the documents found in the wooden crates.

Boxes Full of Nazi Propaganda Discovered in the Basement of Argentina’s Supreme Court

Workers found crates packed with swastika-covered notebooks, postcards and photographs while preparing to move the court’s archives to a new museum

Historian David Carpenter examines the digitized document.

Cool Finds

Harvard Bought This Stained Copy of the Magna Carta for $27.50. It Turned Out to Be an Original

Issued by Edward I in 1300, this version of the historic text is one of only seven known surviving copies. It’s been hiding in plain sight in Harvard Law School’s library since 1946

The Schöningen spears on display in Germany

New Research

Nimble-Minded Neanderthals May Have Used These Wooden Spears to Hunt 200,000 Years Ago

New research shows that the weapons found in Germany are much younger than previously thought, suggesting they were made by skilled Neanderthal craftspeople

The scroll previously known only as PHerc. 172 was written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus.

Cool Finds

These Ancient Scrolls Have Been a Tantalizing Mystery for 2,000 Years. Researchers Just Deciphered a Title for the First Time

Mount Vesuvius’ eruption preserved the Herculaneum scrolls beneath a blanket of ash. Two millennia later, X-ray scans show that one of them is a philosophical text called “On Vice”

The 140-foot Dutch vessel sank during a violent storm off the coast of South Australia in June 1857, killing 16 of the 25 crew members onboard

How Researchers Discovered a 168-Year-Old Dutch Shipwreck Off the Coast of Australia in Underwater ‘Blizzard’ Conditions

The Dutch merchant ship ‘Koning Willem de Tweede’ sank off the coast of South Australia in a violent storm in June 1857

An artistic rendering of the stone chamber where the tubes were discovered

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Discovered a Hidden Chamber Where Elites Used Hallucinogens 2,500 Years Ago

Unearthed in Peru, the small underground room may have been used for rituals involving psychoactive drugs. New research suggests these “exclusive” events were reserved for the elite

A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade.

New Research

By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus

Philadelphia children eating a "three-cent dinner" at school, featured in the 1913 book School Feeding: Its History and Practice at Home and Abroad

American Schools Have Been Feeding Children for More Than 100 Years. Here’s How the School Lunch Has Changed

A new exhibition in Philadelphia explores how nutritional science, technological advances and political debates shaped the foods on schoolchildren’s trays

The pipe was found during an archaeological survey ahead of new construction.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Wooden Water Pipe Made From Hollow Tree Trunks Unearthed Beneath a Street in Belgium

Archaeologists say the muddy soil in the area preserved the artifact, which likely dates to between the second and third centuries C.E.

Located in Northumberland National Park, the Sycamore Gap tree was well-known throughout England and beyond.

Two Men Convicted of Chopping Down England’s Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree in an Act of ‘Mindless Thuggery’

After five hours of deliberation, jurors found Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham guilty of criminal damage for felling the iconic tree that stood near Hadrian’s Wall

Ava DuVernay delivers her acceptance speech for the National Museum of American History’s Great Americans Medal.

Women Who Shaped History

Trailblazing Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Receives the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal

DuVernay is the first director, writer and producer to earn the honor, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals”

Tell Abu Saifi features housing units where soldiers and their families may have lived.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Ancient Tree-Lined Road in Egyptian Military Fortress

Located in the northern Sinai Desert, the site is shedding new light on defensive structures built to protect Egypt’s eastern borders

Leo XIV made his first appearance as pope on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on May 8.

The New Pope Is Calling Himself Leo—Just Like 13 Other Pontiffs Who Came Before Him. Who Are They?

When Robert Prevost was elected pope this week, he chose one of the most popular papal names. The lives of the Pope Leos who preceded him may offer insight into his approach to the papacy

Pueblo Bonito is one of the largest "great houses" constructed by the Chacoan people at Chaco Canyon.

New Research

DNA Links Modern Picuris Pueblo Tribe to Ancestors Who Lived in Chaco Canyon Hundreds of Years Ago

Tribal leaders partnered with scientists to confirm their connection to the archaeological site in New Mexico

Both the sword and the sheath are made from some of the most valuable materials from Napoleon's era.

The Ornate Sword That Napoleon Commissioned During His Rise to Power Is Heading to Auction

Prior to his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the French ruler gave the saber to one of his most trusted generals, whose family kept it for generations

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