Explore History on Colossal

a composite photo of archaeological finds thought to be ancient dice carved from stone and bone, found in the American West and Southwest

12,000 Years Ago, Native Americans Were Playing Games of Chance with Handmade Dice

April 6, 2026

an open porcelain book that appears weathered with an illustrated figure on the left and text on the right

Xiaoze Xie Preserves a Growing Collection of Banned Books in Porcelain

March 30, 2026

A gif from a short film about Silvesterchlausen in Switzerland, featuring a man in a costume with huge bells and a headdress dancing with snowy mountains in the background

A Short Film Joins the Timeless Swiss Masked Tradition of Silvesterchlausen

March 26, 2026

A gif of a hand reaching into a drawer full of tiny books and pulling one out

You’ll Need a Magnifying Glass to Read Some of the World’s Smallest Books at the V&A

March 13, 2026

Architectural columns and arches meticulously carved in miniature in a hunk of marble

Historic Architecture Emerges from Stone in Matthew Simmonds’ Ethereal Sculptures

March 12, 2026

A photo of a Tūī bird with green feathers and white plumage on its chest, in a natural history collection in New Zealand

Spectral Birds Endemic to New Zealand Find New Life in Fiona Pardington’s Portraits

March 11, 2026

a film still of a magician and automaton

Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces

March 10, 2026

A historic example of French letterforms for decorative signpainting

‘Lettres Décoratives’ Is a Celebration of Fin de Siècle Sign Painters’ Vibrant Letterforms

March 6, 2026

A 3D animation of "Perseus with the Head of Medusa" by Antonio Canova

The Met Introduces High-Definition 3D Scans of Dozens of Art Historical Objects

March 5, 2026

A detail of the interior of Grundtvigs Kirke in Copenhagen, taken by David Altrath

Scale the Dramatic Verticality of Grundtvigs Kirke in David Altrath’s Dreamy Photos

March 5, 2026

A 17th-century oil painting by Rembrandt of a priest looking at a large book in a temple

Rediscover a Rembrandt After More than Six Decades in Hiding

March 4, 2026

A photograph by Claire Thomas of a Kazakh man encouraging a large horse to leap over a stream

In ‘Altai,’ Photographer Claire Thomas Chronicles a Time-Honored Way of Life in Mongolia

February 10, 2026

A still from the short film "Papillon" by Florence Miailhe of a swimmer looking out toward the viewer with two other swimmers washing off behind him

A Painterly Short Film Follows Alfred Nakache from Swimming Star to Holocaust Survivor

February 9, 2026

An 18th-century watercolor illustration by Sarah Stone of a parrot and a cockatoo

‘Sarah Stone’s Unseen World’ Highlights Avian Paintings by an 18th-Century Talent

February 2, 2026

a black and white photo montage in the shape of a puzzle by Regina Silveira

Regina Silveira Pieces Together an Evolving Narrative of Latin America

January 29, 2026