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Special Issue
Special Issue
Exploring History

Explore the past and understand the world today. Brimming with artwork, colorful maps, and illustrations, and written by historical experts, Exploring History provides cutting-edge insights into some of history's most perplexing questions.

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If you are interested in information about potential future issues of Exploring History please email history@ngs.org.
Related Features
Race Begins Amundsen
The Race to the South Pole
A century ago Scott lost and Amundsen won—partly because he knew when to turn back.
Malapa Fossil Reconstruction
Part Ape, Part Human
A new ancestor emerges from the richest collection of fossils ever found.
Cleopatra Marble Bust
Searching for Cleopatra
Archaeologists search for the true face—and the burial place—of the "world’s first celebrity."
Gobekli Tepe Pillars
Göbekli Tepe
Turkey’s 11,600-year-old pillars reflect a surprising new theory about the origins of worship.
Machu Picchu
Genius of the Inca
How did they build an empire? Archaeologists find new clues.
Hiram Bingham Peru
Rediscovering Machu Picchu
Read Hiram Bingham's original account of "finding" Machu Picchu a hundred years ago.
Stone Tablet
America’s Lost City
Cahokia was born with a bang and died of unknown causes.
Kings of Controversy
Was the kingdom of David and Solomon a glorious empire—or just a little cow town?
Aztec Earth Goddess
Unburying the Aztec
Diggers find eagles, fur-wrapped knives, no emperor’s tomb.
Tut
Tut's Family Secrets
DNA sheds new light on the boy king’s life and death.
Evolutionary Road
Evolutionary Road
The Middle Awash, in the Afar desert of Ethiopia, is humanity’s hometown.
Caves
Caves of Faith
Near the Silk Road oasis of Dunhuang, ancient Buddhas draw tourists and scholars.
Nasca
Peru's Puzzling Lines
Why did the Nasca etch giant birds and whales in the sand?
Ghost Warriors
Restless Spirits
In China, ancient human sacrifice has given way to tomb-tending ceremonies, but the dead still make demands.
Animal Mummies
Animal Mummies
In ancient Egypt they were preserved to serve as afterlife pals, holy helpers, or gourmet jerky.
Lost Excelente
Diamond Shipwreck
Five centuries ago a ship loaded with gold wrecked off a beach laden with diamonds.
Mannahata
Before New York
If you think the city is wild today, you should have seen it in 1609.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
The sacred city may have engineered its own downfall.
Tang Golden Winecup
Tang Shipwreck
Goods from the Belitung ship exemplify the creativity and craft that flourished in Tang-dynasty China.
Hatsheput
The Woman Who Would Be King
Why did Hatshepsut decide to rule Egypt as a man?
Darwin
Darwin's First Clues
He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths.
Sicily
Voices From the Crypt
Where the Dead Don't Sleep: Sicily's macabre mummies offer lessons about life.
Nansen
Nansen: Polar Saga
It was an outlandish idea: freeze a ship in the Arctic Ocean and ride the drifting ice across the North Pole.
Herod Masada
King Herod Revealed
His unearthed tomb reflects his cruelty and brilliance.
Neanderthals
Last of the Neanderthals
Why did our Ice Age rivals vanish?
Lost Tribes
Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara
Uncovering a mysterious Stone Age graveyard.
Iran Tomb Scaffolding
Ancient Soul of Iran
The glories of Persia inspire the modern nation.
Stonehenge Sunset
Stonehenge
New finds raise tantalizing questions.
Gold Pendant
Afghan Treasures
How a trove of priceless antiquities survived.
Boats
Pioneers of the Pacific
How ancient voyagers settled the far-flung islands of the Pacific.
Sculpture
Black Pharaohs
An ignored chapter of history tells of a time when kings from deep in Africa conquered ancient Egypt.
Cave Painting
India's Ancient Art
Fifth-century painters created stunning murals in dim man-made caves. A gifted photographer brings them to light.
Bog
Tales from the Bog
Using CT scans and radiocarbon dating, investigators hope to make sense of the bodies preserved in Europe's wetlands.
Maya Building
Maya Rise and Fall
The saga of a civilization in three parts: the rise, the monumental splendor, and the collapse.
Iceman Dying
Last Hours of the Iceman
Scientists have poked, prodded, and x-rayed the 5,000-year-old mummy found in the Alps. Was he murdered?
Virginia Aerial Wallpaper
Jamestown
The English who landed at Jamestown 400 years ago undermined an ecosystem and changed the continent forever.
Diver
Slovenia River Excavation
Why did Romans, Celts, and prehistoric settlers submerge personal belongings in a shallow river in Slovenia?
Thracian King Masks
Bulgaria's Gold Rush
The race is on to uncover the golden splendors of Bulgaria's Thracian past before sites are looted.
Skull Bone
Origin of Childhood
Meet the Dikika baby, a three-year-old from the dawn of humanity.
Pirate Magnify
Blackbeard's Shipwreck
Archaeologists search a North Carolina wreck for clues to the ruthless man behind the heartless pirate.
Face Teeth
Mystery Mummy
An ornately tattooed 1,600-year-old mummy is unearthed in Peru.
Priest Cave
The Judas Gospel
Lost for nearly 1,700 years, a crumbling papyrus manuscript presents the most hated man in history in a new light.
Hampton Virginia
Battle of Hampton Roads
The currents of Civil War history and technology collide in Hampton, Virginia.
King Tut Mask
King Tut Revealed
Modern forensics and high-tech imaging offer new insights into his life—and death.
Car Dealer
Hallowed Ground
U.S. Civil War battlefields see new conflict.