Smart News: History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Just Unearthed a Previously Unknown Pharaoh's Tomb

Ancient Egypt's King Senebkay just arose after a 3,650 year slumber

January 17, 2014

Trending Today

The Extreme Dakar Rally Is Tearing Up the Inca Empire

500 drivers in an extreme off-road race, and plenty of damage to historic sites

January 17, 2014

The Franklin Papers includes 4,522 documents, including angry letters the founding father never sent.

Cool Finds

It’s Ben Franklin’s Birthday—Want to Rummage Through His Papers?

4,522 documents, letters and notes that Franklin wrote or received

January 17, 2014

Trending Today

20 Years Ago Today, the Northridge Earthquake Rocked L.A.

Sixty people died and thousands were left homeless in one of the most deadly earthquakes in American history

January 17, 2014

From an illuminated manuscript circa 1350s

Cool Finds

Not All the Knights of the Round Table Were White

The storytellers assumed we’d be sharp enough to pick up on their hints that Sir Morien was black. Turns out, we’re not

January 16, 2014

Cool Finds

What Prompts People to Eat Human Flesh?

Power, violence, revenge—and the heat of the moment

January 15, 2014

Hundreds of years before the Great Wall of China, seen here, there was another.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Chart the First Great Wall of China

Hundreds of years before the Great Wall, the Qi Dynasty built a wall of rammed earth

January 14, 2014

Did the English discover Canada's west coast hundreds of years before it was officially charted by Spanish explorer Juan Perez?

New Research

Francis Drake May Have Discovered Western Canada Hundreds of Years Earlier, Kept Quiet About It

The discovery of a 16th century coin is threatening the story of British Columbia's history

January 14, 2014

War elephants depicted in the battle of Zama, 202 BC.

New Research

A Lesson from History: When Assembling an Army of War Elephants, Don’t Pick Inbred Ones

Even though African elephants usually trump Asian elephants for might and aggression, in 217 B.C. Ptolemy made the crucial mistake of choosing inbred ones

January 13, 2014

Rendering of map by artist John Swogger.

New Research

This Stone Age Mural Might Be the Oldest Map Ever

But before it can be crowned oldest map, archaeologists have to figure out whether it is a map at all

January 13, 2014

New Research

The Dutch Nearly Beat James Cook to New Zealand

A shipwreck discovered off New Zealand dates to a time before Cook's arrival

January 9, 2014

Copyright Law Kept These Famous Works From Entering the Public Domain This Year

Here is a list of books, movies, music & scientific research that would have entered the public domain today had the 1978 copyright law not been passed

January 7, 2014

Meet the People Who Stole From the FBI—After 43 Years, They’ve Decided To Come Forward

In 1971 eight activists stole documents that unveiled a secret FBI campaign to squash dissidents

January 7, 2014

Dinosaur Poop Is Harder to Find Than It Should Be

Why don't archaeologists find fossilized poop all over the place? In a word: roaches

January 6, 2014

People Pirated Many More Files (And Many Fewer Ships) in 2013

While there were zero Somali pirate hijackings this year - the amount of content that was uploaded to The Pirate Bay this year increased by 50 percent

January 6, 2014