News

Smithsonian Magazine4h
Archaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in Belize
Te K'ab Chaak was a wealthy warrior king who rose to power in 331 C.E. His burial is the first royal tomb found in the ...
Smithsonian Magazine3h
A Paleontologist Matched Two Halves of the Same Fossil Stored at Different Museums—and Discovered a New Species
Meet Sphenodraco scandentis, a tree-dwelling, lizard-like reptile that roamed around with the dinosaurs during the Late ...
Smithsonian Magazine7h
These ‘Weird’ Sea Spiders Don’t Have Abdomens—and Instead Store Organs in Their Legs. With DNA, Scientists Are Learning Why
Researchers sequenced the knotty sea spider’s genome for the first time, revealing a missing gene that many other animals ...
Smithsonian Magazine7h
How the Etch A Sketch Etched Itself Into Pop Culture
Sixty-five years after it first hit store shelves, the iconic, red-framed drawing toy continues to enchant kids, artists, and ...
Smithsonian Magazine6h
Neanderthals May Have Been Running a Sophisticated ‘Fat Factory’ in Germany 125,000 Years Ago
New research suggests that they smashed animal bones into tiny pieces before boiling them to extract the high-calorie grease ...
Smithsonian Magazine11h
On the Road to Independence: Field Notes from We Do Declare
Go behind the scenes with curator Rachel Seidman as she interviews women for We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence, ...
Smithsonian Magazine10h
Stolen Historic Documents Surface in Attic—Ten Years After an Employee Used Them as Collateral to Borrow Money
The thief likely took the trove when he worked for the Dutch National Archives in 2015. Recently, someone found them in storage and contacted art detective Arthur Brand ...