Smart News History & Archaeology

Rock art in Vallegrande in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Wildfires Are Destroying Bolivia's Rock Art

Blazes set by farmers hoping to clear land for agriculture pose a threat to archaeological sites across the South American country

Kimberly Teehee photographed in 2010.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Kimberly Teehee Will Be the Cherokee Nation's First Delegate to Congress

The nomination, promised in an 1835 treaty, is still pending as of July 2020

Cool Finds

Unknown John Locke Manuscript Found at a College in Maryland

Written well before the philosopher wrote his seminal treatise on the subject, the text discusses religious tolerance

Dishes and bottles found at the site in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.

Cool Finds

Hidden Japanese Settlement Found in Forests of British Columbia

More than 1,000 items have been unearthed there, among them rice bowls, sake bottles and Japanese ceramics

Trending Today

Brazil's National Museum Hopes to Partially Reopen in 2022

It's been a year since a fire destroyed more than half of the 20 million artifacts held in the museum's collections

A digital reconstruction of Lilias Adie's face

Wanted: The Missing Bones of a Scottish 'Witch'

Officials in Fife have put out a call for the remains of Lilias Adie, who died in prison in the early 1700s after being accused of witchcraft

The dig site at Cooper's Ferry.

Cool Finds

Idaho Site Shows Humans Were in North America 16,000 Years Ago

The site at Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River is more evidence humans first traveled along the coast, not via an ice-free corridor

The coins are currently being analyzed by experts at the British Museum

Cool Finds

Medieval Coin Hoard Offers Evidence of Early Tax Evasion

Metal detector enthusiasts in England unearthed a trove of 2,528 coins while searching in Somerset

Art installation above the Brandenburg Gate

Thirty Years After Fall of Berlin Wall, a Citywide Celebration

A week-long arts festival will feature concerts, immersive exhibitions, art installations, panel discussions and more

New Research

The Ancient Greeks Used Machines to Lift Stones 150 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

An examination of grooves on blocks of stone from early temples suggest they were lifted and then levered into place using a frame

Aaron Burr (left) and his son, abolitionist John Pierre Burr (right)

155 Years After His Death, Abolitionist John Pierre Burr's Epitaph Updated to Include His Father, Aaron Burr

Descendant Sherri Burr's research shows that the vice president had children with Mary Emmons, a servant in his household

Burning birch bark to produce sticky tar.

New Research

Making Neanderthal Birch Tar Isn't as Complex as Thought

But even if Neanderthals were using a simpler method to produce the sticky resin, their use of it still suggests a level of planning and cognitive ability

Cool Finds

An 8,000-Year-Old Platform in Britain Could Be the Oldest Boat-Building Site Ever Discovered

The Stone Age platform, where log boats may have been constructed, reveals early knowledge of advanced wood working techniques

After Roger Fenton, Prince Albert, May 1854, 1889 copy of the original

Thousands of Unseen Photographs, Documents Digitized for Prince Albert’s 200th Birthday

The collection highlights the royal consort’s role in shaping Victorian society, from his interest in photography to his passion for social reform

The earliest recorded reference to Tholey Abbey dates to 634 A.D.

New Stained Glass Is Coming to Germany’s Oldest Monastery

Gerhard Richter is set to design a trio of windows for the Benedictine Tholey Abbey

The 8-year-old girl lived in the Andes around 1470

500-Year-Old Inca Mummy Repatriated to Bolivia

Dubbed Ñusta, or 'Princess,' the mummy represents the first archaeologically significant set of remains to be repatriated to the Andean country

Trending Today

The Titanic Is Being Reclaimed by the Sea

The first manned survey of the ship in 14 years reveals parts of the vessel have rusted away, including the crow's nest, captain's quarters and poop deck

Alvin Baltrop, "Untitled (Portrait of Marsha P. Johnson)," undated

Bronx Exhibition Spotlights Alvin Baltrop, Photographer Who Documented Manhattan’s Underground Queer Community

Baltrop took thousands of snapshots at New York's West Side Piers between 1975 and 1986

One critic of the proposed redefinition says, "It would be hard for most French museums—starting with the Louvre—to correspond to this definition, considering themselves as ‘polyphonic spaces'"

The Term ‘Museum’ May Be Getting Redefined

But experts are divided on the proposed new definition

A park ranger gives the Obama family a tour of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 2016.

3-D Map to Digitize Part of Carlsbad Caverns Down to the Millimeter

The National Parks Service is also compiling a modern cultural history of the caverns

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