Western China's millennia-old mummies

Mummification involves drying a body to preserve it long-term

It was a common and respected practice in many ancient societies. The Egyptians perfected the ritual as part of their religious views of death, believing the dead needed to remain physically intact to reach the afterlife. Mummies were common also in ancient China, Mesoamerica, and the Canary Islands.

A history of China's ancient hidden tombs

Like many ancient cultures, the Chinese had a tradition of burying the dead in elaborate tombs, which would serve as both burial places and residences for the deceased. Archaeological evidence of these tombs, including those of former emperors, provides insights into the country's cultural evolution.

Is the Inca maiden the world's best-preserved mummy?

Found atop a snowy peak in the Andes, this teen mummy is at least 500 years old. Watch this four-minute video to see the Inca maiden, a mummy so well-preserved that small details, such as her many braids, are clearly defined.

Bringing dinosaurs back to Mongolia

The Gobi Desert, which crosses Mongolia and China, was a dinosaur hotspot, offering visitors splendid freshwater lakes and a lush, humid climate. These past verdant vast valleys have become the largest dinosaur fossil reservoir in the world, and with that title comes those seeking to remove such items, whether for personal satisfaction or scientific study. This article explains the fight to restore Mongolia's fossil heritage.

Investigating the death of a 5,300-year-old mummy

Authorities generally consider a case to have gone cold once they've run out of leads or the ability to collect and consider new evidence, usually within a few years of the instigating event. Now imagine being a detective charged with investigating a death that happened more than 5,000 years ago. This article details how Alexander Horn, a then-detective inspector, attempted to solve the mystery of Ötzi the Iceman's death.

Scientists are reconstructing ancient smells—including a 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy

Researchers explain how they have recreated the scent of ancient Egyptian mummies and enabled museum-goers to experience that scent on specialized cards. The exhibit will be at the Royal BC Museum in Canada in June 2026.

The world’s oldest tattoos belong to 'Iceman' Ötzi

Ötzi is the corpse of "the Iceman" found in the Alps along the Italian and Austrian border in 1991. His mummified body was covered with lines and crosses along the “hard-working” areas of his body, signifying their potential application for therapeutic pain management.

The oldest DNA recovered so far is 2 million years old

The oldest DNA recovered so far is about 2 million years old and has given scientists an unadulterated peek into ancient history. This nine-minute video explores the findings and implications of the DNA, which was pulled from frozen soil in...

Explaining the icy mystery of the Dyatlov Pass deaths

A decades-old mystery from Soviet Russia could be explained by studying the science of snow. After nine students died on a hiking trip in the Ural Mountains, Soviet investigators found six had perished from hypothermia while three others died from blunt force trauma. The mystery confounded officials for years, and rumors of yeti attacks and similar theories abounded until researchers proposed a new potential culprit: an avalanche.

What one seventh-century European teen might have looked like

A 16-year-old girl believed to have traveled from Central Europe to England in the seventh century was buried with rare, expensive jewelry. Her body was found in Cambridge, England in 2012, and analysis revealed what her face likely looked like. See...

Ice cream can be traced back to the 7th century

Documents from ancient China refer to a frozen milk dish, a predecessor of the treat we now know. That evolved into a blend of buffalo milk, flour, and fragrant camphor oil that more closely resembled our ice cream.

What (and when) was Imperial China?

China's first dynasty arose in 1600 BCE, according to current archaeological evidence, and its last dynasty fell in 1911. Learn more about Imperial China in this Smithsonian collection of articles and artifacts on each dynasty. According to...

Psychoactive drugs found in 1,000-year-old bag made of fox noses

Archaeologists in Bolivia have uncovered an ancient bag filled with "amazing goodies" that suggests the owner or owners were well-versed in the properties of psychoactive substances and sourced goods from well-established trade routes. This article details the findings, which shed light on how ancient peoples in the region consumed and obtained psychoactive substances.

The mystery of the cucumber, from coiling tendrils to its bitter, mature fruit

Cucumus sativus was first cultivated 3,000 years ago in the Himalaya of India, appearing in ancient Sanskrit hymns in the Hindu tradition. They are typically harvested well before maturation, as their yellow, final fruit is bitter. Their coiling tendrils were so distinct they prompted famed naturalist Charles Darwin to publish one of his lesser-known works, "On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants." Its refreshing coolness inspired cucumber-derived body washes and sprays over millennia.

Why did this prehistoric culture regularly burn their homes?

This article explores why the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture may have regularly burned their homes. The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture is the oldest known in Europe, dating back to about 5,500 BCE in present-day Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. The...

The claims that Jesus was buried in the Shroud of Turin, preserved since 1578

The 14-foot linen cloth bears a faint image of a crucified man and is the most scientifically studied relic in history. The core dispute hasn't moved much: 1988 radiocarbon dating placed it in the 13th-14th century, while defenders argue the sample was contaminated by medieval repairs. No one disputes that scientists can't explain how the image was formed, which acts like a photographic negative and has no trace of paint or dye.

Learn how your earwax may be determined by genetics—and geography

Researchers have discovered that wet and dry earwax are associated with specific gene variations. Wet earwax is particularly associated with warmer areas of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, suggesting that dry earwax may have been evolutionarily advantageous in cooler climates.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Archaeologists race to record ancient Nubia

Long ignored by white archaeologists as a mere footnote, modern scientists are now racing to document what’s left of the African civilization. Evidence of ancient Nubia is at risk of vanishing under environmental, societal, and political pressures. This Undark Magazine article walks you through archaeologists' fight to record ancient Nubia.

Tardigrades can survive in a dehydrated state for decades

Despite being known as water bears, these microscopic creatures can shut down their metabolism when entering cryptobiosis, squeezing more than 95% of the water from their bodies. In this tun state, tardigrades can even survive the vacuum of space.

Blue zones are regions with unusually high numbers of centenarians

Factors thought to contribute to longevity in these regions include diet and social connections, but their legitimacy is often questioned due to a lack of rigorous scientific methodology and potential record inaccuracies.

Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a human being—but it had to be removed

In August 2025, Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a brain-dead person, a common research step for this type of experimental work. Researchers used CRISPR technology to alter six proteins in the pig genes to make the organ seem less foreign to the human immune system. Within a day there were indications the organ wasn’t functioning well and that the person’s body was rejecting it. Scientists ended the experiment after nine days.

Non-Western performance art developed in its own political context

The medium’s emerging popularity in 1990s China is a perfect example of this. Many Chinese artists incorporated the practice of meditation into their works, combining the Buddhist tradition with various modes of endurance art to comment on divisions within Chinese society and the power of the government.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

The Royal Game of Ur, which dates back as far as 2600 BCE, is believed to be one of the oldest board games in the world.

Using AI to rewrite and revive Aztec tales

Despite being vanquished by the conquering Spaniards in the 16th century, the Aztecs' culture endured through their descendants and rituals, as well as texts that escaped destruction at the hands of the Europeans. These texts, known as codices and preserved in part by Christian monks, revealed intimate details of life as an Aztec in the Middle Ages. Today, AI programs allow students to learn the Aztec's language, Nahuatl, further preserving their heritage.

Why portraits of Neanderthals vary so drastically

Neanderthals, humanity's long-lost genealogical cousins, are often portrayed as bumbling, hairy, cave-dwelling misogynists. But other efforts show tall, dignified creatures not too different from contemporary people. This article explores why most visual interpretations of Neanderthals are more in the service of social or political beliefs instead of science.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.