Smart News History & Archaeology

New Research

Cats May Have Been Domesticated Twice

But only one ended up as the house cat

An engraving showing the Pequot War

Cool Finds

Colonial America Depended on the Enslavement of Indigenous People

The role of enslaving Native Americans in early American history is often overlooked

Precinct officials count paper ballots for Mitt Romney in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

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Five Things to Know About the Iowa Caucuses

The Hawkeye State knows its way around political chaos

OSU archaeologist Loren Davis alongside the bones uncovered underneath the end zone.

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Construction Crews Discover Mammoth Bones Beneath an Oregon Football Stadium

10,000-year-old bones were hiding just ten feet beneath the endzone

A ground view of the proposed design for "The Weight of Sacrifice," which will serve as the new national World War I memorial.

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This Is the Winning Design for the New World War I Memorial

One hundred years later, WWI will finally get a large-scale memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Doomsday Clock represents humanity's proximity to total catastrophe.

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The Doomsday Clock's Hands Will Stay Put for Now

Experts agree—when it comes to nuclear weapons and climate change, it's still three minutes until midnight

Amber Anderson and Sara Sanders were awarded an honorable mention for the 2015 Library of Congress Leicester B. Holland prize.

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These Drawings of Historic Places Were Just Honored by the Library of Congress

Step back in time with architectural drawings of buildings steeped in history

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After Nearly 50 Years, Niagara Falls Might Soon Run Dry Again

Repairing a set of 115-year-old bridges may require shutting off the rush of water that usually flows over the falls

Polar explorer Henry Worsley (right) with Prince William of Britain in October, 2015.

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Antarctic Explorer Dies 30 Miles Short of Goal

Henry Worsley nearly crossed Antarctica, unaided

Only a portion of the scores of children buried at the former Florida School for Boys were located in its graveyard. The majority of students were buried elsewhere in unmarked, undocumented graves.

New Research

Archaeologists Finally Know What Happened at This Brutal Reform School

The Florida School for Boys did anything but rehabilitate its students

"We were facing two options: to leave the site to fall into ruin or find investors who would be willing to restore it and make it accessible to visitors," Montenegrin tourism chief Olivera Brajovic tells the Agence France-Presse.

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A Prison Camp in Montenegro Is Now Becoming a Luxury Resort

The tiny Mamula island once held more than 2,300 prisoners during World War II

Nellie Bly in a photo dated soon after her return from her trip around the world.

Cool Finds

Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race

In 1889, the intrepid journalist under took her voyage, mainly by steamship and train, unknowingly competing against a reporter from a rival publication

Cool Finds

These Little-Known Photographs Put an Eerie Face on Child Labor

Unpublished photos taken by Lewis Wickes Hine make a haunting case against the conditions experienced by many working children in the early 20th century

More than 25 specialists worked on the replica cave over the course of three years.

Cool Finds

See the World Like a Paleolithic Cave Dweller With This Replica of the Lascaux Cave Paintings

Go back in time with the help of some talented French artists

New research shows that magical tales have an even longer history than previously suspected.

New Research

Fairy Tales Could Be Older Than You Ever Imagined

Jack may have been climbing that beanstalk for more than 5,000 years

One of Leonardo's notebooks (left) contains an erased figure (right). Conservators discovered the hidden sketch using multispectral imaging.

Cool Finds

How a Hidden Figure Emerged From One of Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebooks

Modern imaging reveals the approximately 500-year-old sketch

The 1,500-year-old skeleton of a man and his prosthesis was found in a grave next to medieval church in Hemmaberg, Austria.

New Research

1,500-Year-Old Prosthetic Foot Discovered in Austria

The skeleton of a middle-aged man may have been missing a lower limb but in its place researchers found a wooden 'foot'

Stone-age cave paintings from the Chauvet cave.

New Research

Chauvet Cave Paintings Could Depict a 37,000-Year-Old Volcanic Eruption

Mysterious paintings in the “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” led researchers to new evidence of ancient volcanic activity

A work by Pavel Ilie at the Romania Postmodernism Museum's "Before & After" exhibition.

Cool Finds

This Postmodern Art Captures a Tiny Moment of Hope During Romania’s Communist Years

Learn about Romania's “unfrozen years” at Bucharest’s Postmodernism Museum

Columbia librarians prepare the 17th-century medical pop-up book for digitization

Cool Finds

Check Out a Medical Pop-Up Book From the 17th Century

Early movable books were geared towards informing adults not entertaining children

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