Fancy ‘Mustache Cup,’ Card-Cheater’s Cufflinks Unearthed in Montana Frontier Town

Wrecks From Infamous 19th Century Whaling ‘Disaster’ Discovered Off Alaska Coast

January 8, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 3294 6

With help from both new technology and global warming, archaeologists have discovered the site of The Whaling Disaster of 1871 — one of the worst debacles in the history of American whale-hunting — off the coast of Alaska.

200-Year-Old Shipwreck Survivors’ Camp Found on Alaska Island

September 14, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 2671 0

A group of Russian traders who found themselves shipwrecked on an Alaskan island in winter more than 200 years ago are no longer just figures in local lore. This summer,…

Origin of ‘Spanish Armor,’ Said to Have Been Found in Texas Desert, Stumps Scientists

September 10, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 11286 15

It seems to have passed through more hands than The Maltese Falcon. And it’s proving to be nearly as mysterious. Two pieces of iron armor — reportedly first found in…

Site of Deadliest Native American Massacre Identified in Idaho

April 27, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 19106 11

A peaceful patch of farmland in southeastern Idaho likely holds a grisly, bitter history — but the full story remains hidden, at least for now. Archaeologists surveying acreage along the Bear…

‘Mysterious’ Winchester Rifle From 1882 Found Leaning Against Tree in Nevada National Park

January 17, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 6863 9

Archaeologists surveying the remote reaches of Nevada‘s Great Basin National Park came upon a tantalizing find from the Old West — a weathered, 132-year-old Winchester repeating rifle, discovered propped up against a juniper tree, just…

Hundreds of 19th-Century Wickiups Recorded in Colorado Mountains

January 11, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 4935 2

In the mountain forests of western Colorado, archaeologists and tribal members have recorded scores of sites that contain the remains of hundreds of wickiups, cone-shaped wooden structures built by the Ute, or Nuche, people more than…

Shipwrecks Discovered in Nautical ‘Graveyard’ at San Francisco’s Golden Gate

September 18, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 3298 1

Maritime archaeologists say they’ve discovered the wrecks of two great but long-forgotten ships, along with a newly found “mystery wreck,” just outside San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate. Researchers with the…

18th Century

Projectile point in human remains in California

From Stone Darts to Dismembered Bodies, New Study Reveals 5,000 Years of Violence in Central California

April 28, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 10640 13

From shooting their enemies with darts and arrows to crushing their skulls and even harvesting body parts as trophies, the ancient foragers of central California engaged in sporadic, and sometimes…