The Ocean Through Time

Life began in the ocean around 3.5 billion years ago and as evolution progressed, many species went extinct -- and some left behind fossils -- as others appeared. And even now, the ocean hasn't stopped changing as evolution continues and humans leave their mark.

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two men each hold a ceramic vessel at the archaeological ex

Archaeologists Study Early Whaling Community in...

For over a decade, Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center archaeologist, William Fitzhugh, has been investigating an early European whaling site at Hare Harbor in Québec, Canada . The site has revealed important contact and trading relationships between the Inuit...

A rendering of an underwater marine scene from the Cambrian Period, featuring an arthropod, annelids, and other animals.

A Collection of Cambrian Fossils

When you're standing in a museum surrounded by fossils, you can almost imagine drifting through...

New Archaeocetes from Peru Are the...

Offshore Peru, during the Eocene (~56-34 million years ago), showing two archaeocetes (ancient...

A rendering of an underwater marine scene depicting life ~145-65 million years ago, when rudist clams were the major reef builders.

Long Before Coral, Mollusks Built the...

Rudist clams were major reef builders during the heyday of dinosaurs. Credit: Smithsonian...

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Charles Darwin's Ocean Upwelling

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System consists of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, and several hundred sand...

The Whale Graveyard Whodunit

Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossil whale skeletons...

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

Video of Claws Out: Fiddler Crabs Do Battle This summer, many of you have...

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Did Whale Evolution Go Backwards?

Whales swim, but their ancestors walked. Whales are mammals (like us) whose ancestors lived on land. Life probably began in...

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