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Mexico

Built at the turn of the seventh century, the white plaster-coated road begins in Cobá and ends 62 miles west, at Yaxuná's ancient downtown in the center of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Did a Seventh-Century Warrior Queen Build the Maya’s Longest Road?

Dubbed the “white road” in honor of its limestone paving, the 62-mile path is an engineering marvel on par with Maya pyramids

Mexico City Is Proposing to Build One of the World’s Largest Urban Parks

More than twice the size of Manhattan, the park could restore the water systems of the region and serve as a model for cities around the world

Around half of the university's 100 "manuscript cookbooks" are now available online.

Education During Coronavirus

Dozens of Historic Mexican Cookbooks Are Now Available Online

The University of Texas San Antonio’s vast collection makes traditional Mexican and Mexican-American cooking accessible

The remains of a pre-Hispanic temazcal recently found in Mexico City

Cool Finds

14th-Century Steam Bath Found in Mexico City

The discovery has helped archaeologists pinpoint the location of the ancient neighborhood of Temazcaltitlan

Hernán Cortés had Aztec treasures melted into gold bars for easier transport back to Europe.

Cool Finds

Spanish Conquistadors Stole This Gold Bar From Aztec Emperor Moctezuma’s Trove

Forces led by Hernán Cortés dropped the looted treasure during a hasty retreat from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in June 1520

Watch the Spectacular Eruption of One of Mexico’s Most Active Volcanoes

Officials say no one was hurt in the explosion. But over in the Philippines, a brewing eruption in threatens to be more severe

Parts of Kulubá are already open to the public, and the INAH hopes the newly discovered palace will become accessible “in the medium term.”

Cool Finds

An Ancient Maya Palace Was Discovered in Yucatán State

Archaeologists think it was occupied by Maya elite more than 1,000 years ago

Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s 1929 Calla Lily Vendor is one of 200 works on view at the Whitney Museum by Mexican artists and the U.S. artists they influenced.

The Unheralded Influence of Mexico’s Muralists

These painters, the focus of a new exhibition at the Whitney, put their own stamp on 20th-century art

Some of the 824 bones uncovered at a site in Mexico

Two Traps Where Woolly Mammoths Were Driven to Their Deaths Found in Mexico

The discovery may offer rare evidence that humans were actively hunting the great creatures

Altars are an important aspect of the Dia de los Muertos holiday in Mexico.

The Meaning Behind Six Objects on Día de los Muertos Altars

From marigolds to sugar skulls, the traditional Mexican holiday is full of symbols

A map shows Mexico and its provinces—which included Mexican Texas—in 1822.

When Mexico’s Immigration Troubles Came From Americans Crossing the Border

Before Texas fought for its independence, thousands of settlers from the east entered the country unlawfully in search of land and agricultural opportunity

"Deep Roots," a section in the Smithsonian's new "Food" exhibition, reflects on the men and women of Mexican heritage, who have long provided the labor and backbone of the production of wine and are now reshaping it as professionals in the industry.

Food, Glorious Food

Three Mexican-American Vintners Tell Their Stories

Alex Llamas, Gustavo Brambila and Amelia Ceja arrived as migrant workers and today thrive as entrepreneurs in the California wine industry

The Torch of Friendship is a 65-foot, 45-ton steel sculpture near San Antonio's River Walk.

San Antonio Displays More Than 100 Sculptures by Artist Sebastian

The city is celebrating the Mexican artist’s 50-plus year career with a massive exhibition

Wall construction began last month within the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, replacing existing vehicle barriers and pedestrian fencing with a continuous, 30-foot-tall steel bollard fence.

Planned Border Wall May Threaten 22 Archaeological Sites in Arizona, N.P.S. Says

Centuries-old artifacts are at risk should the Trump Administration move forward with its work along the border between the U.S. and Mexico

A detail of Toledo’s self-portrait Eye of the Beholder (2017) uses gold leaf in a grid of refracted identities. All artwork used with permission of the artist.

What Makes Francisco Toledo ‘El Maestro’

Mexico’s most important living artist mixes magical realism with passionate rebellion

Frida Kahlo photographed with Diego Rivera and Malu Block.

Cool Finds

This May Be the Only Known Recording of Frida Kahlo’s Voice

The sound of the speaker on recording, which was found earlier this year, has been described as ‘sweet, delicate, very feminine’

A new study identifies the remains of two previously mislabeled species: a short-faced bear and wolf-like carnivore

Cool Finds

Divers Find Ice Age Megafauna Remains in Underwater Mexican Cave

The animals include at least seven short-faced bears and one or two wolf-like carnivores

'Hanging of the San Patricios following the Battle of Chapultepec' by Samuel E. Chamberlain depicts a multiple execution in the aftermath of one of the battles of the Mexican-American War.

During the Mexican-American War, Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the ‘Saint Patrick’s Battalion’

Anti-Catholic sentiment in the States gave men like John Riley little reason to continue to pay allegiance to the stars and stripes

Cool Finds

Cave Full of Untouched Maya Artifacts Found at Chichén Itzá

The intact offerings will allow researchers to understand changes over time at the site

Sunflower sea stars in British Columbia, just weeks before wasting disease turned them to mush.

New Research

Why Almost All of the West Coast’s Sunflower Sea Stars Have Wilted Away

A new study suggests most of the keystone predators have died off due to an unknown pathogen and increasing ocean temperatures

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