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Paleontology

A Mysterious Dinosaur Skeleton Was Auctioned Off to a Private Buyer

And paleontologists are not happy about it

The asteroid didn't just wipe out the dinosaurs—it wiped out the forests. Which meant anything that lived had to learn to live on the ground.

New Research

How the Ancestors of Birds Survived the Dino-Killing Asteroid

Forest cover was crucial to avian evolution, a new study on the mass extinction event asserts

Joe, the "fat boy" from the Pickwick Papers.

The Case for Charles Dickens, the Science Communicator

A new exhibition dives into the Victorian novelist’s passion for science

Panga ya Saidi

New Research

People Lived in This Cave for 78,000 Years

Excavations in Panga ya Saidi suggest technological and cultural change came slowly over time and show early humans weren’t reliant on coastal resources

Though the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens may seem pronounced, scientists didn't always embrace the idea that humans evolved from other species.

How Do Scientists Identify New Species? For Neanderthals, It Was All About Timing and Luck

Even the most remarkable fossil find means nothing if scientists aren’t ready to see it for what it is

The butchered rhino

New Research

700,000-Year-Old Butchered Rhino Pushes Back Ancient Human Arrival in the Philippines

The find changes the story of human migration, but scientists still don’t know what human species did the cutting

Fossil reconstruction and illustration of Ichthyornis dispar.

3-D Scans of Fossil Beaks Show How Modern Birds Came to Be

The early seabird had the sharp teeth of its dinosaur relatives but a bird-like body

Cool Finds

Fossil Tracks May Record Ancient Humans Hunting Giant Sloths

The tracks suggest a human—perhaps in search of food—closely followed the movements of the massive creature

A Tyrannosaurus Rex head on display in Beijing. The country's fossil boom has resulted in a bevy of options for tourists seeking pterosaurs, feathered dinosaurs and early bird specimens.

Ten Chinese Museums Where You Can See a Dinosaur Fossil Up Close

The country’s dino explosion has created a mecca for tourists intent on catching a glimpse of feathered dinos and other prehistoric wonders

Liu Cun Yu, the director of the Beipiao Pterosaur Museum, poses in front of a full-scale model of a Moganopterus zhuiana, a species named after his wife.

The Great Chinese Dinosaur Boom

A gold rush of fossil-finding is turning China into the new epicenter of paleontology

New Research

This Ancient Reptile Was One of the Most Massive Creatures That Ever Lived

A fossil jawbone found in England suggests the ‘sea monster’ was nearly the size of a blue whale

Cool Finds

Rare Tiny T. Rex Unearthed in Montana

Researchers are yet unsure if the creature is a baby dino or an example of the contentious Nanotyrannus

Regaliceratops peterhewsi, the “Hellboy Dinosaur”

New Research

Dinosaur Horns Were For Making Love, Not War

The elaborate horns and frills were more likely for attracting mates than fighting off enemies

The handbones seen in the whale model in the center of this image tell the curious story of how whales went from land to water.

Ask Smithsonian

What’s a “Missing Link”?

While some still use the term, experts abhor it because it implies that life is a linear hierarchy

An endocast revealing the brain of an Iguanodon, an herbivorous dinosaur of the early Cretaceous period. This was the first fossilized dinosaur brain found by modern scientists, announced in 2016.

Women Who Shaped History

The Woman Who Shaped the Study of Fossil Brains

By drawing out hidden connections, Tilly Edinger joined the fields of geology and neurology

Thousands of years ago, a herd of Columbian mammoths trudged across present-day Oregon to an ancient lake, recording their interactions in the muddy sediments.

New Research

Rare Mammoth Tracks Reveal an Intimate Portrait of Herd Life

Researchers piece together a 43,000-years-old tableau of an injured adult and concerned young

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Cool Finds

Dinosaur and Ancient Mammal Stomping Ground Found in NASA Parking Lot

The slab is covered in 70 foot prints and is one of the best collections of animal traces yet found

Habelia optata

New Research

This Fierce 508-Million-Year-Old Relative of Scorpions Had Five Jaws and Body Armor

A new analysis of Habelia optata could help us understand the history of modern arthropods

This dinosaur footprint was found in sandstone at Dinosaur Track at Hackberry Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National. A proclamation recently signed by President Trump would reduce the protected area by half.

What Shrinking Fossil-Rich National Monuments Means for Science

Smithsonian.com asks paleontologists how their work will change after the decision to slash Bears Ears and Grand Staircase

The Ten Best Children’s Books of 2017

Our picks are full of silly words, weird animals and unknown histories

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