Death | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/death/RSS feed for DeathenThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:34:49 +0000Archaeologists Discover Mysterious Medieval Knight Buried Beneath an Ice Cream Parlor in Polandhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-mysterious-medieval-knight-buried-beneath-an-ice-cream-parlor-in-poland-180987021/The well-preserved skeleton was buried under a rare limestone tombstone, which suggests the individual may have been an important member of Gdańsk society during the Middle AgesThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:34:49 +0000An Archer Shot This Bronze Age Human in the Back. 4,000 Years Later, the Arrow Is Still Embedded in the Victim's Rib Bonehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-archer-shot-this-bronze-age-human-in-the-back-4000-years-later-the-arrow-is-still-embedded-in-the-victims-rib-bone-180987036/The attack took place during a period of conflict between groups living in the Pyrenees mountains in modern-day SpainWed, 23 Jul 2025 19:10:35 +0000Why 18th-Century Americans Were Just as Obsessed With Their Genealogy as We Are Todayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-18th-century-americans-were-just-as-obsessed-with-their-genealogy-as-we-are-today-180986958/People living in British America and later the nascent United States recorded their family histories in needlework samplers, notebooks and newspapersThu, 17 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000Archaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in Belizehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-treasure-filled-tomb-belonging-to-the-first-known-ruler-of-a-maya-city-in-belize-180986972/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 ancient city of CaracolFri, 11 Jul 2025 20:16:31 +0000Neanderthals May Have Been Running a Sophisticated 'Fat Factory' in Germany 125,000 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neanderthals-may-have-been-running-a-sophisticated-fat-factory-in-germany-125000-years-ago-180986951/New research suggests that they smashed animal bones into tiny pieces before boiling them to extract the high-calorie grease insideFri, 11 Jul 2025 18:01:03 +0000This Museum Is Asking Visitors Whether It Should Continue to Display Mummified Human Remainshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-museum-is-asking-visitors-whether-it-should-continue-to-display-mummified-human-remains-180986942/The Manchester Museum in England is inviting guests to share feedback on Asru, an ancient Egyptian woman whose body was unwrapped 200 years agoTue, 08 Jul 2025 18:57:28 +0000Scientists Have Sequenced an Ancient Egyptian Skeleton's Entire Genome for the Very First Time. Here's What They Foundhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-have-sequenced-an-ancient-egyptian-skeletons-entire-genome-for-the-very-first-time-heres-what-they-found-180986935/Dating back more than 4,500 years, the skeleton belonged to a middle-aged man who may have worked as a potter and likely descended from ancestors in North Africa and MesopotamiaMon, 07 Jul 2025 19:26:52 +0000Four Bewildering Bronze Lions' Heads With Slightly Different Facial Expressions Found in Ancient Roman Grave in Israelhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/four-bewildering-bronze-lions-heads-with-slightly-different-facial-expressions-found-in-ancient-roman-grave-in-israel-180986922/Similar examples of ancient lion artifacts appear to have been used as door knockers. But the newly discovered discs may have served a different purposeThu, 03 Jul 2025 17:47:45 +0000Fishermen in the Brazilian Amazon Discover Enormous Funerary Urns Beneath a Toppled Treehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fishermen-in-the-brazilian-amazon-discover-enormous-funerary-urns-beneath-a-toppled-tree-180986926/The ceramic vessels contained the bones of pre-Columbian Indigenous people, as well as fish, frog and turtle remainsThu, 03 Jul 2025 16:53:06 +0000How a Deadly Circus Fire on the 'Day the Clowns Cried' Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reformshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-a-deadly-circus-fire-on-the-day-the-clowns-cried-traumatized-a-community-and-led-to-lasting-safety-reforms-180986888/On July 6, 1944, a blaze broke out at a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show in Hartford, Connecticut. At least 167 people died, and hundreds were injuredThu, 03 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000Gas Workers Digging Beneath the Streets of Lima Stumble Upon 1,000-Year-Old Mummy With Dark Brown Hairhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gas-workers-digging-beneath-the-streets-of-lima-stumble-upon-1000-year-old-mummy-with-dark-brown-hair-180986924/The burial belonged to a child who may have lived among fishermen from the Chancay culture, which thrived in Peru before the rise of the Inca EmpireWed, 02 Jul 2025 19:29:18 +0000Ancient DNA Reveals That Men Moved in With Their Brides' Families in This Neolithic Settlementhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-dna-reveals-that-men-moved-in-with-their-brides-families-in-this-neolithic-settlement-180986915/A new study suggests that a 9,000-year-old society in Catalhoyuk, a proto-city in southern Anatolia, may have established a "female-centered" social structureWed, 02 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000This Young Woman With a Cone-Shaped Skull Died After Suffering a Severe Head Wound 6,000 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-young-woman-with-a-cone-shaped-skull-died-after-suffering-a-severe-head-wound-6000-years-ago-180986894/Found in the Chega Sofla cemetery in Iran, the skull appears to have been struck by a blunt object. Archaeologists don't know whether the incident was intentional or accidentalMon, 30 Jun 2025 20:49:59 +0000The Man Who Invented the Modern Zoo Tested Out His Ideas on People Firsthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-invented-the-modern-zoo-tested-out-his-ideas-on-people-first-180986839/Carl Hagenbeck believed that animals should be housed in habitats that mimicked their natural environment. Earlier, he'd followed the same guiding philosophy when exhibiting Indigenous people in "human zoos"Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000Scavenger Animals Are in Trouble, and That Could Spell Bad News for Human Healthhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scavenger-animals-are-in-trouble-and-that-could-spell-bad-news-for-human-health-180986845/More than one-third of species that eat some amount of carrion are threatened or declining, a new analysis finds, and that could lead to a rise in zoonotic diseasesWed, 18 Jun 2025 19:57:40 +0000This Viking Woman Was Buried With a Small Dog at Her Feet 1,000 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-viking-woman-was-buried-with-a-small-dog-at-her-feet-1000-years-ago-180986792/Archaeologists unearthed the burial site during excavations in Norway. They say the discovery provides unique insights into the bonds humans form with their animalsTue, 17 Jun 2025 14:40:28 +0000This Forgotten Founding Father Hoped to 'Die Up to My Knees in Blood' in the Fight for American Independence. He Got His Wishhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-forgotten-founding-father-hoped-to-die-up-to-my-knees-in-blood-in-the-fight-for-american-independence-he-got-his-wish-180986795/Joseph Warren was a key leader of the American Revolution, mobilizing troops and managing a circle of spies. But he's mainly remembered for his death at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:02:33 +0000Ancient Sarcophagus Unearthed in Israel Portrays an Epic Drinking Contest Between the God Dionysus and the Mythical Hero Herculeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-sarcophagus-unearthed-in-israel-portrays-an-epic-drinking-contest-between-the-god-dionysus-and-the-mythical-hero-hercules-180986785/Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaicsThu, 12 Jun 2025 16:09:40 +0000Two Wildlife Tunnels Are Saving Thousands of Amphibians From Being Crushed by Cars in Vermonthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-wildlife-tunnels-are-saving-thousands-of-amphibians-from-being-crushed-by-cars-in-vermont-180986727/New research finds a pair of underpasses installed under a road that crosses a migration corridor have led to an 80.2 percent reduction in amphibian deathsTue, 03 Jun 2025 15:24:06 +0000The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America's Shoreshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-hidden-history-of-the-nazi-u-boats-that-prowled-the-gulf-coast-bringing-world-war-ii-to-americas-shores-180986707/Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the processMon, 02 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000A Fungal Disease Ravaged North American Bats. Now, Researchers Found a Second Species That Suggests It Could Happen Againhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-fungal-disease-ravaged-north-american-bats-now-researchers-found-a-second-species-that-suggests-it-could-happen-again-180986715/White-nose syndrome caused millions of bat deaths, and scientists are sounding the alarm that a second fungus could be disastrous if it reaches American wildlifeFri, 30 May 2025 17:55:04 +0000This 300-Pound Bust Was Stolen From Jim Morrison's Grave in 1988. French Police Just Recovered Ithttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-300-pound-bust-was-stolen-from-jim-morrisons-grave-in-1988-french-police-just-recovered-it-180986702/Created for the tenth anniversary of the Doors frontman's death in 1971, the bust stood on his grave in the famous Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris for only seven yearsFri, 30 May 2025 14:15:20 +0000This Bewildering Byzantine Bucket Stumped Archaeologists for Decades. Now, They've Finally Discovered Its Purposehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-bewildering-byzantine-bucket-stumped-archaeologists-for-decades-now-theyve-finally-discovered-its-purpose-180986701/Fragments of the bucket were first found at England's Sutton Hoo burial site in 1986. New research has revealed that the 1,500-year-old artifact was probably used as a cremation vesselThu, 29 May 2025 18:20:16 +0000How Did Vikings View Pregnant Women? New Research Reveals That They Were Sometimes Depicted With Weaponshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-did-vikings-view-pregnant-women-new-research-reveals-that-they-were-sometimes-depicted-with-weapons-180986674/Researchers studied Old Norse literature and archaeological evidence to shed new light on women's experiences of pregnancy during the Viking AgeWed, 28 May 2025 17:38:46 +0000Egyptian Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Tombs Belonging to Three Senior Statesmen Who Helped Keep the New Kingdom Runninghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/egyptian-archaeologists-unearth-three-ancient-tombs-belonging-to-three-senior-statesmen-who-helped-keep-the-new-kingdom-running-180986692/The burials were found at Dra Abu el-Naga, a necropolis for nobles and officials on the West Bank of the Nile RiverTue, 27 May 2025 18:48:36 +0000