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The Anchisaurus cast in its display case.
East Windsor, Connecticut

The Bones from the Well

A replica of fossils believed to be the first scientifically-described dinosaur bones found in North America.
The limestone cave of Paviland, in southern Wales, where an ancient, ochre-stained skeleton was discovered in 1823.
caves

Who Was the Red Lady of Paviland?

The 33,000-year-old skeleton was taken from Wales two centuries ago—is it time for the bones to go home?
Ffion Reynolds and Jacqui Mulville March 20, 2023
Researchers found the remains of the frontal skulls of 35 large game animals in Des-Cubierta cave near Madrid, Spain.
skulls

Did Neanderthals Collect Impressive Animal Skulls?

Researchers found something "very strange" in a Spanish cave.
Alyssa McMurtry March 16, 2023
relics

Podcast: Galileo’s Middle Finger

Investigating a renowned scientist's iconic digit.
The Podcast Team January 31, 2023
During the last ice age, people moved across Beringia, a massive landform connecting Asia and North America. Seasonal hunters left behind a trove of valuable evidence of their presence at the northern Canadian site known as the Bluefish Caves.
caves

Investigating Ice Age America’s Ancient Abattoir

Scientists know people were in Yukon 24,000 years ago. But what were they doing there?
Devon Bidal January 30, 2023
Cesare Lombroso, a prominent 19th-century Italian scientist, based his life's work on the skull of a man he called "brigand Villella"—but little was known about Giuseppe Villella until recently.
skulls

Why is Everyone Fighting Over the Skull of 'Brigand Villella'?

The answer involves pseudoscience, politics, and a burglary at a windmill.
Dania Rodrigues November 4, 2022
This 1833 painting by Alexandre Hesse in the Louvre in Paris depicts the funeral rites of the painter Titian after his death from plague.
plague

Venice Is Almost One Big Plague Graveyard

A city built on water was always going to struggle with burials—especially when a deadly pandemic came to town.
Vittoria Traverso October 27, 2022
The catacombs.
List

19 Catacombs Sure to Tingle Your Spine

These underground galleries bring the living to the world of the dead.
Jonathan Carey October 14, 2022
Maltese bone cookies are a tradition with a murky past.
bones

In Malta, ‘Dead Men’s Bones’ Are a Sweet, Spiritual Tradition

The cookies are just one way that the island nation remembers the dead.
Alice Levitt October 11, 2022
Magdeburg, Germany

Guericke-Einhorn (Magdeburg Unicorn)

This 17th-century "unicorn" was cobbled together from the skull of a rhinoceros, the legs of a mammoth, and the horn of a narwhal.
dinosaurs

A ‘Weird’ Ancient Marine Reptile Surfaces Thanks to the ‘Bone Biddies’

The unique plesiosaur defies the fossil rulebook—just ask the “paleogrannies” who prepared it for study.
Gemma Tarlach September 28, 2022
Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center.
List

7 Scientific Sites in Los Angeles

Laboratories, observatories, and museums to inspire curious minds.
Detail of Whalebone Fence on the Wadden Sea island of Rømø
Rømø, Denmark

Whale Jawbone Fence

Danish whalers once brought back whale bones to use as building materials in places where wood was scarce.
North Berwick Law whalebone arch
North Berwick, Scotland

North Berwick Law

An amazing model of a whale's jaw bone pays homage to the region's seafaring traditions.
The famous Terrace of Lions is one of many ancient Greek sites featuring realistic depictions of the animals; eroded by weather, the remaining statues are now safely housed in a nearby museum.
science

Following the Mysterious Trail of Europe's Last Wild Lions

Researchers use art and ancient bones to make the case for modern lions once freely roaming Southeastern Europe.
Katarina Zimmer January 31, 2022
According to the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and many historians and forensic experts, this is the skull of French philosopher René Descartes. Swedish researchers disagree.
wunderkammers

Was René Descartes a Victim of Skull Blasting?

Centuries after the philosopher’s death, lingering controversy over his remains highlights a macabre practice of profiting from the dead.
Gemma Tarlach October 25, 2021
The Hyrtl Skull Collection isn't just medical history. Scientists continue to study the bones today.
anatomy museums

The Eventful Afterlife of a Crowd of 19th-Century Skulls

Philadelphia’s famed anatomy showplace, the Mütter Museum, gets a facelift.
April White October 18, 2021
The little marzipan bones are traditionally filled with egg-yolk marrow.
saints

The Bone-Shaped Sweets That Honor the Dead in Spain

Make the marzipan "limbs" that commemorate loved ones on All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
Vera Armus October 15, 2021