Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used symbols to track the sale of textile and agricultural products. New research suggests that these markings informed the development of writing

Born October 30 to parents Gloria and Otto at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, the hippo is already gaining popularity, following in the footsteps of viral sensation Moo Deng

An exhibition in London is showcasing more than 600 artworks and artifacts—including costumes, props and sketches—from the famous filmmaker’s career

When the war ended, Allied soldiers tracked down Nicolas de Largillierre's "Portrait de femme à mi-corps" with the help of a savvy French curator who had been working for the resistance

Antonia, a cloned black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, has produced two healthy offspring that will help build genetic diversity in their recovering population

In a rare technique among mammals, the bats burn proteins from blood, rather than carbs or fat, to power their pursuits of prey, according to a new study

Steve Lazarides' personal collection of prints, original works, handwritten press releases and burner phones sold at auction for around $1.4 million

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

The 4,500-year-old pyramids of Giza are the backdrop for "Forever Is Now," which features sculptures, installations and immersive artworks that explore the relationship between the past and present

The bone, described two decades after its discovery, suggests the species might have grown up to 20 percent bigger than other terror birds

The viral king penguin chick at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is beginning to lose his youthful down, a process that will give him his distinctive and waterproof adult plumage

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

It's not the first time savvy entrepreneurs have marketed canned air to tourists. Similar products have been sold at vacation destinations for decades

Make what's perfect more human

The brick-built botanicals celebrate the UK’s 2017 City of Culture

An investigation by David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times revealed the buyer's identity

Some 250 volunteers transported more than 2,000 books

‘Our goal is to provide full flexibility, 24/7,’ one resident said. ‘If you want to cut the lawn at 4 a.m., then you do it.’

It's not clear how the juvenile male ended up so far north, but experts suggest he was motivated by his appetite

On this day in 1912, a team found the remains of Robert Falcon Scott and the crew of the "Terra Nova" expedition. A would-be rescuer said he was forever haunted by the "horrible nightmare"

During a release of captive-bred snails in September, researchers discovered wild-born individuals from the Partula tohiveana species—which had been considered extinct in the wild—marking a huge milestone in a global effort to save them

Mary, a 54-year-old Asian elephant at the Berlin Zoo, is the “queen of showering,” but her companion Anchali seems to have figured out how to exploit that habit to play pranks

The 1951 artwork, "La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman)," stands over six feet tall and features paintings of "hybrid creatures and lush dreamscapes"

The Cuban-American actor and producer has stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, but this new honor pays tribute to his start as a musician in South Florida

These shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show why it’s one of the most-visited nations on earth

The team traveled from New Zealand to Tonga along a humpback highway to collect environmental DNA and raise awareness of the plight of the marine mammals

From Setsubun in Japan to Fèt Gede in Haiti, these festivals relish in the macabre

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest capture quintessentially Cuban scenes

In the late 19th century, city officials turned the final resting place for 10,000 souls into what's now Greenwich Village’s James J. Walker Park

Pedestrians in Montreal, Grand Rapids and other locations can time-travel thanks to installations that map historical scenes directly onto the cityscapes

Once one of the world’s most dangerous border crossings, Berlin's symbol of death and division has been turned into a tangible way to experience history

These amazing images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show the Arctic animals at their fierce but adorable best

Getting the perfect shot requires great timing, the right equipment and nerves of steel

These grounded planes in the Congo have captured the imagination of these children

Iconic images of Dr. King from the Smithsonian collection

See images of the American flag captured by our readers.

Michelle Frankfurter tells the stories of these young migrants and also those of the thousands who jump aboard “the death train”

It's curtains for the NASA mission's close relationship with the satellite

The tongues of bird-like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, however, may have been more mobile

The surge of hungry four-legged visitors to Belushya Guba is part of a larger trend

In one reef, three million sea cucumbers released 64,000 metric tons of nutrient-packed poo back into the ecosystem

As of last Wednesday, at least 3,500 sea turtles have been rescued from freezing waters in the midst record-breaking winter storm

The trend is a result of women deciding to have children later in life and the use of medically assisted reproduction methods

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan's immense collection of books and art

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show how communities in Mexico and beyond mark Día de los Muertos.

On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potential

The terms “snake oil” and “snake-oil salesperson” are part of the vernacular thanks to Clark Stanley, a quack doctor who marketed a product for joint pain in the late 19th century

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life