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History

Hygiene sticks excavated at Xuanquanzhi station along the Silk Road

New Research

Ancient “Poop Sticks” Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

The parasites found within the 2,000-year-old-feces smeared on bamboo suggest more than commodities made the trip

Data from the Viking biology experiments, which is stored on microfilm, has to be accessed using a microfilm reader.

Cool Finds

NASA Is Finally Digitizing the Viking Mission’s 40-Year-Old Data

No more microfilm

A courtyard in front of a mosque adjacent to the al-Qarawiyyin Library, pre-restoration.

Cool Finds

The World’s Oldest Working Library Will Soon Open Its Doors to the Public

After renovations wrap up in September, the library at Morocco’s al-Qarawiyyin University will debut an exhibition section for non-scholars

Cool Finds

Before Pokémon Go, These Scavenger Hunts Were All The Rage

“X” marks the spot

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on His Love of History, Youth Sports and Which Books Everyone Should Read

The basketball legend has always had a writer’s touch

A grave marker in Kingston's Hunt's Bay Cemetery carved with a skull and crossbones and Hebrew lettering

The Forgotten Jewish Pirates of Jamaica

Today, some tour operators and cultural historians are calling attention to the country’s little-known Jewish heritage

Cool Finds

Researcher Unearths a Trove of New Shakespeare Documents

Archival papers show the Bard was interested in improving his social status

Photograph of the megalithic cluster of Carregal do Sal, one of the passage graves in Portugal that may have doubled as an ancient telescope.

New Research

These Ancient Tombs May Have Been Both Grave and Observatory

The best view of the heavens could be from within the tomb

Cool Finds

The Contentious History of the Cherry Tomato

The salad topper has a long and fraught history

Preah Khan of Kompong Svay as seen by Lidar

Cool Finds

Laser Scans Reveal Massive Khmer Cities Hidden in the Cambodian Jungle

Using Lidar technology, researchers are discovering the extent of the medieval Khmer empire

New Research

Bronze Buckle Shows Ancient Trade Between Eurasia and North America

Metal objects found on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula indicate that local people received trade goods from Asia almost 1,000 years ago

A photo of the two giant footprints that appeared on the shores of a Nantucket beach in August 1937.

The Summer of Nantucket’s Sublime Sea Serpent

News travels fast in small towns — especially when it involves huge footprints of a rumored mythical creature

A classic Parisian newsstand on Rue St. Germain.

Trending Today

Parisians Are in an Uproar Over Their New Newstands

Paris’ iconic kiosks are being updated and replaced

One of the destroyed handprints.

Trending Today

Vandals Destroyed 8,000-Year-Old Aboriginal Artworks in Tasmania

The priceless rock art is damaged beyond repair

An ad looking for a woman named Fanny who escaped along with her daughter. The 7-year-old girl is described as a mulatto, which could suggest she is the daughter of the slaveowner seeking them out.

New Research

An Archive of Fugitive Slave Ads Sheds New Light on Lost Histories

Wanted ads posted by slave owners reveal details of life under slavery

Sikh passengers aboard the Komagata Maru in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet, 1914.

Trending Today

The Story of the Komagata Maru Is a Sad Mark on Canada’s Past

Why Prime Minister Trudeau’s decision to formally apologize is so significant

Cool Finds

Central Park Opens Up Its “Secret Sanctuary”

Closed for 80 Years, the Park recently announced it will open the restored Hallett Nature Sanctuary to vistors

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava after it was decimated by a fire on Orthodox Easter.

Trending Today

A Historic Cathedral in New York City Goes up in Flames

The Cathedral of St. Sava caught fire just hours after the Orthodox congregation celebrated Easter

The history behind America's five-cent coin

A Brief History of the Nickel

In honor of the coin’s 150th anniversary, read up on how the nickel came to be minted

King Lear was deemed too dark for its 17th century audiences.

Is There Such a Thing as a “Bad” Shakespeare Play?

More than four hundred years after the Bard’s death, the quality of his works is still a fluid scale

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