Many Voices, One Nation takes visitors on a chronological and thematic journey that maps the cultural geography of the unique and complex stories that animate the Latin emblem on the country’s Great Seal and the national ideal: E pluribus unum, Out of m

The role of religion in the formation and development of the United States is at the heart of this one-year exhibition that explores the themes of religious diversity, freedom, and growth from the colonial era through the 1840s. National treasures from the Museum’s own collection are on view, s

The astrolabe is an astronomical calculating device used from ancient times into the eighteenth century. Measuring the height of a star using the back of the instrument, and knowing the latitude, one could find the time of night and the position of other stars. The openwork piece on the front, ca

This “getting to know you” activity asks kids to show who they are by composing a portrait made of their objects. It also introduces or reinforces an idea central to historical research—objects hold stories about the people who own them and when they lived. This activity suite is desig

This page is one side of a double-sided sheet from a copy of the Koran, a collection of revelations to the Prophet Mohammed that forms the basis of the Islamic religion. Information within the book indicates that the scribe worked on it for 22 years and completed it in 1207 A.D. The black letters

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), an early European physician and professor of medicine, wrote an important treatise on the human body, published in 1543. He provided detailed illustrations that demonstrated muscle structure and other features of human anatomy, based on his work dissecting cadavers

In the 15th century, decades before they sailed into the Caribbean, Spanish merchants, captains, and adventurers had already conquered and enslaved the people of the Canary Islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. On the western coast of continental Africa, the Portuguese had been cultivating a sla

The civilizations of pre-Hispanic Mexico recorded their histories, religious beliefs, and scientific knowledge in books called codices. Codices are folded pieces of hide or bark that depict both mundane and spiritual scenes with images, symbols, and numbers. Scribes and painters busily recorded d

Search over 7.4 million records with 568,100 images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives & libraries.

This engraving shows Hernán Cortés (1485 1547), the Spanish captain who headed the conquest of the Aztec Empire. He became a part of popular mythology the moment he arrived in Mexico in 1521. Cortés had spent time in Cuba killing and enslaving its indigenous inhabitants and administering the n