Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Rituals and Traditions

Ritual sticks, between 11,000 and 12,000 years old, were discovered in Cloggs Cave.

Sticks Discovered in Australian Cave Shed New Light on an Aboriginal Ritual Passed Down for 12,000 Years

Both Western analyses and traditional Aboriginal knowledge helped the research team learn about a cultural practice dating to the last ice age

A team of Italian and Egyptian archaeologists discovered the tombs along the west bank of the Nile.

Cool Finds

Trove of Tombs Sheds Light on How Ancient Egyptian Families Lived—and Died

The finds include mummies from many social classes, some of whom were buried alongside relatives after succumbing to disease

Riders gallop during the Hawick Common Riding in Scotland.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The Festival Where Scotland’s Violent History Comes Back to Life

Every year in the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders, one of Europe’s largest equestrian events commemorates a lawless time that shaped the region’s identity

Delos is a small, rocky island just west of Mykonos in Greece.

The Island Known as the Birthplace of Apollo Is Sinking

Researchers say climate change is to blame for the Greek island of Delos’ slow demise

Baskind was buried under a Star of David with full military honors at the Normandy American Cemetery in France this week.

A Jewish Soldier Found in a German Mass Grave Has Been Reburied in an American Cemetery

Nathan Baskind received a Jewish burial exactly 80 years after his death in World War II

The annual parade was founded in Brooklyn's Coney Island in 1983.

At Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, Thousands Channel Aquatic Weirdness

Crowds decked out as fantastical sea creatures flocked to Brooklyn’s amusement district for the summer kickoff event

A girl runs through sprinkles of water to cool off on a hot summer day.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 15 Stunning Scenes of Summer

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest will remind you of everything you love about the season

The wine, made of crushed white grapes 2,000 years ago, turned red-brown with age.

Cool Finds

Oldest Wine Ever Found in Liquid Form Unearthed in 2,000-Year-Old Tomb

Researchers have concluded that the fluid preserved inside an ancient funerary urn is a white sherry-like wine

The 10-foot-deep well is located in Ostia Antica.

Cool Finds

Trove of Rare Artifacts Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Roman Well

Dozens of items, including burnt bones and ceramics, provide new insights into ritual activity in the city of Ostia

Aspen, Colorado gets around 300 days of sunshine per year.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2024

From a bluegrass capital in Virginia to a laid-back surf town in Hawaii, these spots are beckoning to tourists this year

Archaeologists found amphorae, bronze jugs, bronze lamps and construction materials inside the room.

Cool Finds

See the Stunning Shrine With Rare Blue-Painted Walls Unearthed at Pompeii

The 86-square-foot space is adorned with artworks depicting female figures and agricultural imagery

Components of Seahenge, or Holme I, were displayed at the British Museum in 2022.

New Research

England’s Mysterious ‘Seahenge’ Monument May Have Been Built to Prolong Summer

One researcher thinks the structure was used for ancient rituals during a period of bitter cold

Zongzi are dumplings made from sticky glutinous rice wrapped neatly in a bamboo leaf and filled with umami-rich ingredients, like marinated pork, shiitake mushrooms, peanuts and beans.

How Zongzi Became the Must-Eat Food During the Dragon Boat Festival

A festive recipe to ward off sea monsters remains a staple of one of China’s biggest cultural events

The graves were found in central France during an excavation of a site containing mostly fifth- and sixth-century development.

Cool Finds

These 28 Horses Were Buried in an Ancient Mass Grave. How Did They Die?

Archaeologists are puzzled by the 2,000-year-old burial site uncovered in central France

These gendered designs have been the standard for hundreds of years.

Men’s Shirts Button on the Right. Why Do Women’s Button on the Left?

Nobody knows for sure, but plausible theories include swords, servants and saddles

This artistic reconstruction shows how the two women and the horse may have originally been placed.

New Research

These Ancient Skeletons Are Not Entwined Lovers, But a Daughter Embracing Her Mother

New research found that the two women, who were buried in Austria atop a horse, were first-degree relatives who died some 1,800 years ago

The Maya played games like pok-a-tok, in which players hit a rubber ball through a stone circle such as this one in the ancient city of Chichen Itza.

Cool Finds

Hallucinogenic Plant Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Maya Ball Court

Researchers have found evidence of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremonial offering at the site in present-day Mexico

The helmet could date to as far back as the sixth century B.C.E.

Cool Finds

Why Did the Ancient Illyrians Place Helmets in Their Burial Mounds?

A 2,500-year-old helmet found in Croatia may have been a funerary offering. It offers insights into the rituals of a lesser-known culture that once occupied the Balkan Peninsula

A team of 18 bakers worked for hours to create the record-breaking loaf.

French Bakers Set a New World Record by Making a 461-Foot-Long Baguette

The previous world record was set by a group of bakers in Italy in 2019

The glass bottles buried in the graves were unearthed in good condition.

Cool Finds

In This Ancient Cemetery, Romans Left Fine Glass Vessels, Platforms for Feasting and Phallic Pendants

Archaeologists in Narbonne, France, have been studying the necropolis since 2017

Page 8 of 37