Smart News History & Archaeology

An international group of artists was brought in to paint what is now the East Berlin Gallery, a 1300 meter stretch of the remnant Berlin Wall.

Luxury Home Developer Wants to Tear Down Part of the Berlin Wall’s Remains

Cultural preservation met urban development over the weekend with protests to save the Berlin Wall

Suffragettes march, complete with cloth banners, across the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and 11th St. in Washington, D.C. Photo: Library of Congress

Inauguration History

More Than One Hundred Years Ago, 5,000 Suffragettes Paraded Down Pennsylvania Avenue

On the eve of Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, suffragists descended upon Washington

Aphrodite rescuing her son Aeneas, wounded in fight, scene from The Iliad. Work on display in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen.

Geneticists Try to Figure Out When the Illiad Was Published

When was The Iliad actually written? To answer that question, you might turn to a historian or a literary scholar. But geneticists wanted a crack at it

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Don’t Believe the Guy Who Claims He’s Descended From Vikings

You can probably claim Viking or whatever other heritage of choice you prefer and have a good chance of hitting the mark—without forking over $200

Mississippi Officially Ratifies Amendment to Ban Slavery, 148 Years Late

The movie Lincoln helped kick Mississippi into action on finally ratifying the 13th Amendment

Fifty Years After Sylvia Plath’s Death, Critics Are Just Starting to Understand Her Life

Cultural fascination with the author and poet continues to burn brightly despite - or perhaps because of - Plath's premature departure from this world

In the Entire History of the Catholic Church, Only a Handful of Popes Have Resigned

Today, Pope Benedict XVI told the world that he would resign

Chinese relics in disrepair and the study authors’ proposed fix for the terracotta soldiers.

China’s Terracotta Warrior Army Is Deteriorating

If China doesn't take steps to better preserve the relics, they may eventually turn into dust

Some of the newly discovered pyramids

Archaeologists Found a Mysterious, Dense Cluster of 35 Pyramids in Sudan

The pyramids hail back to the days of the kingdom of Kush, which occurred around 2,000 years ago

Aramaic is one language scholars are racing to save.

How to Revive a Lost Language

By the year 2100, the human race will have lost about 50% of the languages alive today. Every fourteen days a language dies. There are some success stories

A Liberty Head nickel from 1883

1913 Nickel Could Sell for More Than $2 Million

The coin is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist, though this one has an illicit, serendipitous back story

“No. 2256. Copyist: Musa b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Kansusi from the area of Takrakar. Copied in 1144 H / 1731 G in Takrakar (Gao, Mali).”

Library Full of Precious Manuscripts Burned in Timbuktu

Two men reenact Roman military life in Split, Croatia.

In Ancient Rome, Children’s Shoes Were a Status Symbol

From a trove of ancient Roman footwear, a rethinking of military life

In Europe, These People Wouldn’t Be Allowed To Drive

A recent study found that drivers with blind spots were more likely to hit pedestrians and less able to respond to hazardous situations

Did ancient Australians witness a similar scene?

Indians Made It to Australia More Than 4,000 Years Before the British

Give your future and your coin to Anubis, and you’ll be spared the rigors of hard labor.

In Ancient Egypt, People Paid to Become Temple Servants

Rather than face forced labor, some ancient Egyptians gave up their futures and their coin to become temple servants

Hungover? There’s a Cure for That No Matter Where You Live

There are some things that are universal—trade, money, shelter, hangovers

Hankie Coated in Beheaded Louis XVI’s Blood Found in Dried Squash

Two centuries after King Louis XVI's execution, researchers think they've found a revolutionary souvenir from that fateful day

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Letter From Chinese Labor Camp Prisoner Found in Kmart Decorations

The letter's author described 15 hour work days, no days off and pay of around $1.61 per day after receiving sentencing without a trial

All of Zeus’s Affairs, Visualized

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