Smart News History & Archaeology

An artist's rendition of the Rio Olympics facilities for the 2016 Summer Games. Some of the media accommodations were apparently built on top of remnants of Brazil's slave history.

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The Media Village at the Rio Olympics Is Built on a Mass Grave of Slaves

As Brazil looks forward to an Olympic future, it buries its past

Cool Finds

Museum Unveils Henry VIII's Flagship

The <i>Mary Rose</i> sank almost 500 years ago, but following more than 30 years of restoration, the remains of the warship are open to the public

A researcher examines inscriptions by 16th century Europeans in a cave on Mona Island

Cool Finds

Cave Graffiti Shows Natives and Europeans Had Early Dialogue in the Caribbean

Cave art from both Taíno people and Spanish explorers in a cave on Mona Island shows the two had some early cultural understanding

A cartoon from the magazine The Judge, where "Democracy" is portrayed as the devil overlooking Washington, D.C., and looks very much like Grover Cleveland.

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Lucifer Has Long Had His Hands in Politics

Since the earliest days of Christianity, people have accused their political rivals of being in league with the Devil

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

New Research

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

Cool Finds

These Anti-Suffrage Postcards Warned Against Giving Women the Vote

There are always those who resist societal change

Image captured from the 1948 Republican National Convention.

Cool Finds

Watch Historic Footage of Seven Consequential (and Cringeworthy) Convention Moments

These tidbits of political theater past must be seen to be believed

This musical score, in Jane Austen's handwriting, is one of nearly 600 Austen family musical treasures available in an online archive.

Cool Finds

Jane Austen’s Music Collection Is Now Online

Play piano like a Darcy with nearly 600 Austen-approved tunes

Eleven Persian qanats are being preserved by Unesco.

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Unesco Names New World Heritage Sites

Rock art, irrigation and education add to the organization's growing list of sites worthy of protection

Was this 1660 self-portrait painted with the help of high-tech optics?

New Research

Did Rembrandt Have Help With His Most Famous Paintings?

A new study suggests the old master also knew his optics

W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Cool Finds

The Revolutionary Infographics of W.E.B. Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

Data visualizations shed light on the living conditions of black people decades after the end of slavery

Artist sketches of D.B. Cooper, who vanished in 1971 with $200,000 in stolen cash.

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After 45 Years, the FBI Has Officially Stopped Looking for D.B. Cooper

The mysterious skyjacker got away clean

Cultural treasure—or stolen goods?

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Britain’s Most Famous Plundered Art Could Finally Go Home

There’s a new attempt to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece

A courtyard in front of a mosque adjacent to the al-Qarawiyyin Library, pre-restoration.

Cool Finds

The World’s Oldest Working Library Will Soon Open Its Doors to the Public

After renovations wrap up in September, the library at Morocco’s al-Qarawiyyin University will debut an exhibition section for non-scholars

New Research

Did Ancient Pacific Islanders Use Obsidian to Make Their Tattoos?

A team of Australian researchers think they may have found tools used to ink the ancients

Amphora that were cargo of a ship that sank in the Greek archipelago of Fourni

Cool Finds

New Discoveries Double the Size of Ancient Greek Shipwreck Graveyard

Researcher in the Fourni archipelago found 23 ships dating between 525 B.C. and 1850

Cool Finds

Before Pokémon Go, These Scavenger Hunts Were All The Rage

"X" marks the spot

"Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear" Vincent van Gogh 1889

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Van Gogh Cut Off a Lot More Than His Earlobe

The self-inflicted wound was even worse than most thought

"These chimpanzees get more recognition, respect & freedom in American than our people do," wrote Malcolm X to a friend in 1964.

Cool Finds

Here's What Malcolm X Thought About Race in 1964

A revealing postcard to Redd Foxx is up for auction

Theresa May, the U.K.'s newest Prime Minister.

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Why Britain’s New Prime Minister Wasn’t Elected

Theresa May will become the U.K.’s newest Prime Minister tomorrow

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