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.
Read More19th Century
200-Year-Old Shipwreck Survivors’ Camp Found on Alaska Island
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,…
Read MoreOrigin of ‘Spanish Armor,’ Said to Have Been Found in Texas Desert, Stumps Scientists
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…
Read MoreSite of Deadliest Native American Massacre Identified in Idaho
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…
Read More‘Mysterious’ Winchester Rifle From 1882 Found Leaning Against Tree in Nevada National Park
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…
Read MoreHundreds of 19th-Century Wickiups Recorded in Colorado Mountains
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…
Read MoreShipwrecks Discovered in Nautical ‘Graveyard’ at San Francisco’s Golden Gate
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…
Read MoreFrom Stone Darts to Dismembered Bodies, New Study Reveals 5,000 Years of Violence in Central California
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…
Read MoreFancy ‘Mustache Cup,’ Card-Cheater’s Cufflinks Unearthed in Montana Frontier Town
In the 1860s, Virginia City, Montana, was at the hard, frayed fringes of American civilization. The first capital of Montana Territory, it was the birthplace of the Vigilantes, self-appointed police…
Read More