Articles

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus.

History of Now

Lessons in the Decline of Democracy From the Ruined Roman Republic

A new book argues that violent rhetoric and disregard for political norms was the beginning of Rome's end

Zelia Nuttall, who began an academic career in archaeology after she divorced her archaeologist husband in 1888, is best known for her work on ancient Mexican manuscripts.

Women Who Shaped History

The Archaeologist Who Helped Mexico Find Glory in Its Indigenous Past

Disrupting a stereotype of Mesoamerican savagery, Zelia Nuttall brought the ingenuity of Aztec civilization to the fore

The new research is geared to helping clinicians, not replacing them.

Can Artificial Intelligence Detect Depression in a Person's Voice?

MIT scientists have trained an AI model to spot the condition through how people speak rather than what they tell a doctor

From left to right: Sgt. Harold J. Higginbottom, Brigadier General Amos A. Fries, 2nd Lt. Thomas Jabine

World War I: 100 Years Later

How Three Doughboys Experienced the Last Days of World War I

The end of the war was a welcome reprieve for these three American soldiers, eager to return home

With elaborate coiffures and scarves and ceremonial garb, all the way down to beautifully designed sandals and the tinkling of gold bracelets, Senegalese women usefashion for sociopolitical and economic ends as well as celebrating their own history.

In Senegal, Female Empowerment, Prestige and Wealth Is Measured in Glittering Gold

The African Art Museum's new exhibition delves into a tradition that is both ravishingly beautiful and hauntingly fraught

Leif Asp envisions a car with a body that acts as an energy source.

Let's Build Cars Out of Batteries

If batteries could make up the very structure of our vehicles and electronics, those products would be far lighter and more efficient

Freddie Mercury performing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in August, 1980.

How Close Does 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Come to Showing the Real Freddie Mercury?

While the movie has been critiqued for flattening the legacy of Queen, see the band come to life in historic photos

“What I also want people to understand is that as difficult as this history is, it's ripe with optimism," says the museum's director Lonnie Bunch. "Because if you can survive that cabin, there's a lot more you can survive.”

This South Carolina Cabin Is Now a Crown Jewel in the Smithsonian Collections

The 16- by 20-foot dwelling once housed the enslaved; a new podcast tells its story

Seagrass plants have a large capacity for absorbing and storing carbon on the seafloor.

Underwater Meadows of Seagrass Could Be the Ideal Carbon Sinks

Many ecosystems absorb and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, and seagrass is one of the most efficient natural carbon storage environments

Khoikhoi of South Africa dismantling their huts, preparing to move to new pastures—aquatint by Samuel Daniell (1805). Pastoralism has a rich history in Africa, spreading from the Saharan region to East Africa and then across the continent.

Ritual Cemeteries—For Cows and Then Humans—Plot Pastoralist Expansion Across Africa

As early herders spread across northern and then eastern Africa, the communities erected monumental graves which may have served as social gathering points

In his 90-minute performance, Leguizamo hurtles through 50 characters—from an Incan emperor to a female Confederate soldier.

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

Why John Leguizamo Is So Invested in Telling the Country About Latino History

His uproariously inventive one-man show, soon to be shown on Netflix, puts the story of a neglected culture center stage

The advantages of gear-and-lever voting machine, c. 1898, over the ballot box were many, including that it kept a running count, thus speeding up the reporting of results.

When Pulling a Lever Tallied the Vote

An innovative 1890s gear-and-lever voting machine mechanized the counting of the ballots so they could be tallied in minutes, not hours or days

A view of the wreckage in the Malbone St. Tunnel

The Malbone Street Wreck of 1918

A confluence of circumstances led to the deadly disaster, 100 years ago today, in the New York subway that killed 93

From New York to South Carolina, take a trip through the haunts of one of America's favorite authors.

Halloween

Take a Trip Through Edgar Allan Poe's America

From his birth in Boston to his death in Baltimore, check out places that were important to America's favorite macabre author

As the first serious scientist to study the legendary creature, Krantz risked his career and reputation on a subject that many consider a joke. And while the museum remembers him as a man who loved science so much that he donated his body to it, another community remembers Krantz as a pioneer in the study of Sasquatch.

The Scientist Grover Krantz Risked It All. . .Chasing Bigfoot

The dedicated anthropologist donated his body to science and it’s on display, but his legacy is complicated

Baby bats are born tipping the scales at a third of their adult weight, and since mama bats have to carry them until they can fly, at which point they are nearly full-grown, it’s no wonder they start to get a bit physical.

Mama Bats Literally Nudge Their Babies Out of the Roost

Researchers observed mother bats repeatedly prodding their young to motivate them to fledge

In areas made up of less than 70 percent native plant biomass, Carolina chickadees will not produce enough young to sustain their populations. At 70 percent or higher, the birds can thrive.

Ecologists Have this Simple Request to Homeowners—Plant Native

A new study shows how quickly songbird populations fall off when gardens are planted with exotic trees and shrubs

Last-Minute Costumes Inspired by the Archives of American Art

Tips from the glamorous and bohemian crowd

Drawing inspiration from the myth of werewolves, the Nazis inspired real soldiers and civilians to fight at the end of the war.

The Nazi Werewolves Who Terrorized Allied Soldiers at the End of WWII

Though the guerrilla fighters didn’t succeed in slowing the Allied occupation of Germany, they did sow fear wherever they went

The flavor of chocolate depends on numerous factors, from the soil the cacao plant was grown in, to the length of time the cocoa beans are fermented.

The Science of Good Chocolate

Meet the sensory scientist who is decoding the terroir of chocolate—and working to safeguard the cacao plant that gives us the sweet dark treat

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