The Past

Smallpox was nothing new in 1721.

For decades, researchers have proposed that climate change and human-caused environmental destruction led to demographic collapse on Easter Island. That's probably false, according to new research.

Climate and ecological changes as well as disruption to the food chain were already killing off the dinosaurs.

Discovering fossilized insects is difficult, but a new find suggests a unique place to look.

A Nazi institute produced a Bible without the Old Testament that portrayed Jesus as an Aryan hero fighting Jewish people.

The skeleton of the world's oldest known shark attack victim exhibits telltale wounds.

Can a war be won from the air? A group of renegade pilots in the 1930s thought so.

In 1933, the skull of a 50-year-old male of the Homo longi species was found in China, puzzling researchers.

When the mutual relatives of two royal families died, the countries were likelier to go to war.

The Bomber Mafia nearly changed the world—and you've likely never heard of them.

The Black Death wasn't the only plague in the 1300s.

A school lesson leads to more precise measurements of the extinct megalodon shark, one of the largest fish ever.

Hippocrates overturned conventional wisdom and invented modern medicine.

Mastodons, rhinos, and even camels — all in the great state of California.

There were at least four major climate catastrophes that reshaped global religion. It could be happening again.

Linguists discover 30 sounds that may have allowed communication before words existed.

These Roman Emperors were infamous for their debauchery and cruelty.

As bad as this sounds, a new essay suggests that we live in a surprisingly egalitarian age.

How do archaeologists know if someone was buried intentionally tens of thousands of years ago?

The mummy was first thought to be a male priest. But a recent radiological analysis revealed a surprising anomaly.

Scientists discover what our human ancestors were making inside the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa 1.8 million years ago.

Did the 20th century bring a breakthrough in how children are treated?

How fabric helped build modern civilization.

A Harvard professor's study discovers the worst year to be alive.

A recent study analyzed the skulls of early Homo species to learn more about the evolution of primate brains.

Are we enslaved by the finer things in life?

About 359 million years ago, at the end of the last phase of the Devonian period, there was a mass extinction event or series of events. An estimated 70 to […]

A new model of the Antikythera mechanism reveals a "creation of genius."

After years of speculation a team of researchers has pinpointed the age of this ancient mystery.

555-million-year-old oceanic creatures share genes with today's humans, finds a new study.