Smithsonian Magazine

For Centuries, Cave Visitors Walked Right by 280 Ice Age Engravings. The Newly Discovered Rock Art Is Rewriting Catalonia’s Prehistory

Prior to the discovery, rock art in northeastern Spain was "very scarce," one archaeologist says. The drawings show dozens of animals, as well as more abstract shapes, which are distinct from other Pa ...
Smithsonian Magazine

CARE Packages Provided a Lifeline for World War II Survivors. Here’s How the Group Turned Leftover Army Rations Into an 80-Year Legacy

The organization began as the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, and it became a way for those in need to ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Strange Gas in Mars’ Atmosphere Hints the Red Planet Is Still Volcanically Active—and Points to Places to Search for Alien Life

Cracks along a giant Martian volcano, possibly above a magma chamber, might be spewing magmatic gases into the atmosphere, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Where Did Stonehenge’s Mysterious, Six-Ton Altar Stone Really Come From? Geologists Rule Out the Scottish Hypothesis as the Search Deepens

A comprehensive investigation of the sandstone megalith’s "geological fingerprint" suggests it did not originate in northeast ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Wooden Wardrobe in Pompeii Remained Sealed for Nearly 2,000 Years. Archaeologists Just Opened It for the First Time

The ancient cabinet held a pair of tweezers, a perfume bottle, an incense burner and ceramic vessels. But the most impressive ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Once This Family of Wasps Evolved Into Frighteningly Efficient Parasites, There Was No Going Back

Scientists have long puzzled over the evolution and parasitic tendencies of Darwin wasps. New DNA research provides the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Arctic Polar Vortex Is Collapsing Earlier in the Season Than Ever Documented—but We Don’t Know How It’ll Affect Global Weather

A previous polar vortex disruption contributed to the Great Texas Freeze in 2021. This time, the ongoing "super" El Niño ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Michelangelo Used These Custom, Multi-Headed Brushes While Painting ‘The Last Judgment’ to Replicate His Intricate Sculpting Techniques

While restoring the Sistine Chapel, researchers discovered wavy groupings of brushstrokes which indicated that the artist ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Moths Use Their Genitals to Fend Off Bats—but Not in the Way You Think. They Emit Ultrasound to Scramble the Predators’ Sonar

New research suggests male hawkmoths have three distinct anti-bat, ultrasound-producing systems. These may have evolved ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Real Story Behind the 504 Sit-In for Disability Rights, the Longest Peaceful Occupation of a Federal Building in American History

Organizers like Judy Heumann pressured officials to implement the first federal legislation protecting disabled Americans from civil rights violations. "Being Heumann," a new film by director Siân ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Fossil Footprints in Brazil Hint at a Cougar-Size Mammal That Walked Among Dinosaurs. It’s Another Sign That Some Early Beasts Grew to Impressive Sizes After All

Don’t think of all Mesozoic mammals as meek and tiny—alongside the terrible lizards, some were giants in their own right ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Hear, Hear to Long Ears: These 15 Furry Photos of Adorable Rabbits and Hares Will Have You Leaping for Leporidae

The images from Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show the mammalian species and their twitching noses at their cutest ...