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Rituals and Traditions

The alignment of the pits discovered suggests a ritual purpose.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 25 Mesolithic Pits in England

The 8,000-year-old pits shed light on a period in Britain that historians know very little about

The canoe was discovered in an underwater cave in 2021.

Maya Canoe Found in Underwater Cave May Have Been Used for Rituals

Archaeologists discovered the seven-foot-long vessel near Chichén Itzá two years ago

The 10th installment of the Renwick Invitational, "Sharing Honors and Burdens," is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. (Above: Memorial Beats by Lily Hope, 2021, thigh-spun merino and cedar bark with copper, headphones, and audio files, 16 × 4 × 10 in.)

Six Native Artists Share Their Honors and Burdens in This Year’s Renwick Invitational

The emerging and established Native American and Alaska Native creators bring innovation to traditional art practices

Lee Wan-kyu, South Korea's minister of government legislation, holds a whiteboard showing his Korean age alongside his international age.

South Koreans Just Got Younger, Thanks to a New Law

The country previously had three distinct systems for determining age, often leading to confusion

Forensic artist Hew Morrison created this rendering based on the skull of the girl.

Forensic Artist Reconstructs the Face of a Teenager Who Lived 1,300 Years Ago

Researchers have spent a decade unraveling the mysteries of the girl’s unusual burial site

A rendering of what the site in Tiel may have once looked like

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old ‘Dutch Stonehenge’

The ritual site was once used to determine the longest and shortest days of the year

Inscriptions on the statues in both Etruscan and Latin are still legible after thousands of years.

Found in Ancient Spa, Stunningly Preserved Bronze Statues Go on View in Rome

The trove of 2,300-year-old bronzes was discovered last year in a thermal spring in Tuscany

After more than 100 years, Germany returned two centuries-old masks to Colombia's Indigenous Kogi community.

Germany Returns Sacred Wooden Masks to Colombia

In Berlin, the centuries-old artifacts were treated with chemicals that could pose health hazards

Crowds gather for the summer solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.

Nine Ways People Celebrate the Summer Solstice Around the World

Across the Northern Hemisphere, worshippers of the longest day of the year build bonfires, plunge into the ocean and visit prehistoric monuments

Archaeologists in England found Bronze Age skeletal remains, cremation burials and artifacts.

Bronze Age Cemetery Discovered Near Stonehenge

Archaeologists found graves and artifacts while preparing land for a new subdivision in southern England

Researcher Laurent Davin plays a replica of one of the 12,000-year-old bird bone flutes recently discovered in northern Israel.

Cool Finds

These 12,000-Year-Old Flutes Mimic the Sound of Prehistoric Birds

The remnants of seven small bird bone instruments were discovered in northern Israel

A researcher scans the negative cavity in the gypsum casing.

New Research

Why Did the Romans Cover Bodies With Gypsum?

Researchers are using 3D scanning technology to learn more about the plaster casts

Paleontologist Lee Berger, who led the new research, walks in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the possible burial sites were uncovered.

Ancient Human Relatives May Have Buried Their Dead

Remains in a South African cave system predate the oldest known human burials by about 160,000 years or more

Public swimming at Clift Park in Skaneateles, New York

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2023

From an ultramarathon capital in the Rockies to a laid-back village in the Florida Keys, these vibrant towns are calling your name

This picture taken on July 26, 2020 shows a cemetery undergoing demolition amidst ongoing construction at the historic City of the Dead.

Activists Work to Protect Cairo’s City of the Dead From Demolition

Historic graves are being moved or destroyed as Egypt builds new roads and bridges

Designer Nudie Cohn sits in his Pontiac convertible.

How a Rhinestone Cowboy From Ukraine Left His Mark on the Music World

Making his famous “Nudie suits,” tailor to the stars Nudie Cohn lived and breathed the bedazzled American dream

Charles and Camilla with members of the working royal family

See Charles III’s Official Coronation Portraits

Hugo Burnand prepared meticulously for his brief photo session following Saturday’s ceremony

A generation told not to trust anyone over 30 nevertheless adored Vonnegut.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Advice to College Graduates Is Still Relevant

To his adoring young fans in the 1960s and ‘70s, the anti-establishment novelist was the father they wished they had

Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation portrait

History of Now

A Not-So-Brief History of British Coronations

Ahead of Charles III’s ceremony, here’s what you need to know about the origins and evolution of the centuries-old tradition

The carriage is designed to resemble the one that Charles III will ride in.

You Can Book Uber’s Horse-Drawn Carriage Ahead of Charles III’s Coronation

One driver—and a team of four white horses—will be available in the days leading up to the ceremony

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