Special Report

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

From the formation of Earth through the changing climates and creatures of the past, the Smithsonian's Hall of Fossils explores our planet's Deep Time. Smithsonian Magazine shares stories about the hall, along with the latest news about ancient creatures.

When visitors step into the new hall, they’re welcomed by ice-age creatures like the woolly mammoth.

Gary Mulcahey, Smithsonian Institution

Inside the Hall

Towering over the Fossil Hall is the plant-eating sauropod <em>Diplodocus,</em> which has been on display since 1931 and now is posed with tail in the air.

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Amid All the Fossils, Smithsonian's New Dinosaur Exhibition Tells the Complex Story of Life

“In order to interpret the past,

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Meet the Master Muralist Who Inspired Today's Generation of Paleoartists

The sequoia tree slab is an invitation to begin thinking about a vast timescale that includes everything from fossils of armored amoebas to the great <em>Tyrannosaurus rex</em>.

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A 16-Million-Year-Old Tree Tells a Deep Story of the Passage of Time

Dinosaur News

This rock contains the first of the newly discovered fossils: It is a portion of a fossil lake shore that preserves very fine details of ripples produced by waves, on which a small reptile left behind footprints of its legs and tail.

Italian Hiker Discovers Animal Tracks From a Time Before Dinosaurs, Hinting at a Prehistoric Ecosystem

Alexa Robles-Gil

This fragment of a terror bird’s left tibiotarsus, a lower leg bone in birds equivalent to that of a human tibia or shin bone, dates to around 12 million years ago during the Miocene epoch.

Rare 'Terror Bird' Fossil Found in Colombia Reveals the Enormous Size of a Prehistoric Predator

Alexa Robles-Gil

Silesaurids—including Silesaurus opolensis (pictured above) and the newly described fossil from Brazil (not pictured)—are usually considered non-dinosaurs. Some researchers are suggesting they might be more closely related to certain dinosaurs than previously thought.

A Rare Triassic Fossil Found in Brazil Could Shed Light on the Origin of Dinosaurs

Alexa Robles-Gil

The first dinosaur fossils discovered in Hong Kong went on display last week.

Paleontologists Discover Dinosaur Fossils in Hong Kong for the First Time

Margherita Bassi

Allosaurus

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This Captivating Guide Uncovers the History and Mystery of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils

Ancient Earth

The Irish elk, or Megaloceros giganteus, ranged across northern Eurasia from Siberia to Ireland and shed its giant antlers every year. It is on display in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

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Biggest. Antlers. Ever. Meet the Irish Elk

Illustration from the graphic novel 'Martina and the Bridge of Time' by Aaron O'Dea and Ian Cooke Tapia.

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Time Travel Into Panama's Deep History With This Richly Illustrated New Graphic Novel

Artist's impression of the Chicxulub impact.

After the Dinosaur-Killing Impact, Soot Played a Remarkable Role in Extinction

Nola Taylor Redd

The list covers findings in biology, justice and human rights, the environment, and more.

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Fifty Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since the First Earth Day

Smithsonian magazine

Stromatolites at Lake Thetis, Western Australia

Why It’s So Difficult to Find Earth’s Earliest Life