Smart News History & Archaeology

Officials from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation were sent to investigate the carving.

Cool Finds

Mushroom Hunters Stumble Upon Mysterious Stone Sculpture in Thai Forest

While the artwork's age is still unknown, some think it depicts the mother of the Buddha

These gendered designs have been the standard for hundreds of years.

Men's Shirts Button on the Right. Why Do Women's Button on the Left?

Nobody knows for sure, but plausible theories include swords, servants and saddles

A painted drum carved with phoenixes and tigers (circa 300 B.C.E.)

Why Is Chinese Art Full of Dragons, Phoenixes and Tigers?

A new exhibition showcases stunning mythical artworks of the Zhou Dynasty's "lost" kingdoms

The interactive map, called Segregation Explorer, tracks demographic trends across the country.

This Map Lets You See How School Segregation Has Changed in Your Hometown

The new interactive tool accompanies a study of school enrollment data, which shows that segregation has worsened in recent decades

A self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

Based on a True Story

A New Leonardo da Vinci Biopic Is Coming to the Big Screen

The film will be an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of the Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor

The exhibition includes portraits of staff by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

The British Royals' Huge Staff Once Included Exotic Cat Wranglers, Rat Killers and Toilet Attendants

A new exhibition in London offers an inside look at the lives of the workers who served the monarchy between 1660 and 1830

The stone has inscriptions on three sides.

Cool Finds

Geography Teacher in England Finds Stone With 1,600-Year-Old Inscriptions in His Garden

The rock is covered in ogham, an alphabet made up of parallel lines used for writing in the Irish language

Runners compete in the Marathon des Sables, a 250-kilometer race in the Sahara Desert in Morocco, in 2022. Humans have a number physiological adaptations, such as slow-twitch muscle fibers and the ability to sweat a lot, that help with endurance running.

Long-Distance Running May Have Evolved to Help Humans Chase Prey to Exhaustion

Scientists found hundreds of recent examples from around the globe of hunters using "endurance pursuits" to tire out their prey, furthering the debate over the hunting technique

Researchers used ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography to scan the graveyard near the Great Pyramid of Khufu.

Cool Finds

Scientists Are Investigating a Puzzling Underground 'Anomaly' Near the Giza Pyramids

Using remote-sensing technologies, researchers have discovered two connected structures in a previously unexplored area

This artistic reconstruction shows how the two women and the horse may have originally been placed.

New Research

These Ancient Skeletons Are Not Entwined Lovers, But a Daughter Embracing Her Mother

New research found that the two women, who were buried in Austria atop a horse, were first-degree relatives who died some 1,800 years ago

The mummified head, reconstructed by a forensic sculptor, belonged to a woman who lived in Egypt during the region's Greco-Roman period, between 332 B.C.E. and 395 C.E.

See the Reconstructed Face of a Mummy Stored in a High School Library Since 1915

A forensic artist hopes the sculpture will help humanize the mummy, which appeared at Australia's Grafton High School under mysterious circumstances

Alvin Gauthier drove more than 300 miles to personally deliver lost letters from a World War II veteran.

Mail Carrier Drives for Five Hours to Hand Deliver Lost World War II-Era Letters

When Alvin Gauthier found several letters written by a veteran in the 1940s, he went on a mission to return them

A portrait of Ludwig Van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, painted in 1820.

Locks of Beethoven's Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses

Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer's hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments

The Maya played games like pok-a-tok, in which players hit a rubber ball through a stone circle such as this one in the ancient city of Chichen Itza.

Cool Finds

Hallucinogenic Plant Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Maya Ball Court

Researchers have found evidence of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremonial offering at the site in present-day Mexico

A "Charles I gold unite crown coin" generated the most money at the auction, collecting £5,000 (about $6,250).

Cool Finds

English Family Finds More Than a Thousand 17th-Century Coins During Home Renovation

The hoard, which collectively sold for $75,000, was likely buried during the First English Civil War

Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr in Firebrand, an upcoming film from director Karim Aïnouz

Based on a True Story

Watch the Trailer for 'Firebrand,' a New Drama About Henry VIII's Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

Karim Aïnouz’s film features Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as the Tudor queen and king

The helmet could date to as far back as the sixth century B.C.E.

Cool Finds

Why Did the Ancient Illyrians Place Helmets in Their Burial Mounds?

A 2,500-year-old helmet found in Croatia may have been a funerary offering. It offers insights into the rituals of a lesser-known culture that once occupied the Balkan Peninsula

A team of 18 bakers worked for hours to create the record-breaking loaf.

French Bakers Set a New World Record by Making a 461-Foot-Long Baguette

The previous world record was set by a group of bakers in Italy in 2019

Ellen Ochoa was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House last week, becoming the tenth astronaut to receive the country's highest civilian honor.

Ellen Ochoa, Former NASA Astronaut and First Hispanic Woman in Space, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

The former Johnson Space Center director logged four space shuttle flights and 1,000 hours in orbit over her 30-year career

In A Woman Sewing With Two Children, the central character wears a light wash denim apron.

When Were Blue Jeans Invented? These Paintings Suggest the Fashion Trend Dates Back to the 1600s

Ten paintings attributed to the "Master of the Blue Jeans" depict Italian peasants wearing the storied fabric

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