All articles tagged with #mammoths
Before modern paleontology, medieval and early modern Europeans misidentified giant fossils as mythical creatures or biblical giants. This belief persisted for centuries until scientists like Cuvier proved extinction was real.
A study analyzing ancient DNA from 521 woolly mammoths across Eurasia and North America (about 50,000 years) found that roughly 70% of mammoths at human-accumulation sites were female, compared with about 34% female at natural settings. This suggests prehistoric hunters may have selectively targeted female-led herds, possibly because these groups moved more predictably or females and juveniles were easier to pin down. The research, spanning multiple sites including a major Polish site with over 100 mammoths, was published in Current Biology and adds detail to how Ice Age humans hunted mammoths and how such hunting could have influenced mammoth populations and extinction timelines.
A Yukon permafrost study shows 700,000-year-old Arctic ground-squirrel coprolites preserving a rich environmental DNA record, enabling reconstruction of mitochondrial genomes for woolly mammoths, steppe bison and other Ice Age species (including horses, wolves, a big cat, and plants), offering a detailed snapshot of ancient Beringia and its ecosystem while noting that some signals may come from the burrow contents rather than direct predator DNA.
A 700,000-year-old DNA analysis of fossilized coprolites from the Klondike region reveals that after torpor, ancient ground squirrels ate a diverse diet including megafauna such as woolly mammoths, bison and big cats, and it uncovers a previously unknown ground-squirrel lineage along with what may be the oldest mammoth DNA.
Scientists sequenced ancient DNA from Columbian mammoths in Mexico, revealing unexpected genetic differences from northern populations and suggesting a more complex evolutionary history than previously thought, with implications for understanding species migration and diversity in the Americas.
New research suggests that the Clovis people, who migrated to North America around 13,000 years ago, heavily relied on mammoths for food and clothing, which may have contributed to the mammoths' extinction. The study, using isotopic analysis, found that mammoth meat constituted a significant portion of the Clovis diet, challenging previous assumptions of a more diverse diet. The findings also highlight the importance of consulting Indigenous communities in archaeological research, as demonstrated by the researchers' collaboration with tribes in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.
Researchers have found direct evidence that the Clovis people, who lived in North America around 13,000 years ago, primarily consumed megafauna, with mammoths making up a significant portion of their diet. This conclusion was drawn from chemical analysis of the bones of a child found in Montana, revealing the mother's diet. The study suggests that the Clovis' focus on large prey like mammoths may have contributed to megafaunal extinctions at the end of the Ice Age, as these animals faced new human predators amid ecological stress.
Colorado voters approved a measure to reintroduce woolly mammoths to the Western Slope by 2030, aiming to restore a critical element of the ecosystem and potentially help control wildfires. However, concerns have been raised by ranchers and property owners about the potential impact on their communities, as evidenced by the escapades of "Manny," an in vitro mammoth breaking down fences at a research facility in Wyoming.
Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology company, has made progress in genetically resurrecting the woolly mammoth by producing Asian elephant stem cells that can be transformed into mammoth-like cells. However, ethical concerns and technical challenges remain, including the welfare of the animals, the potential impact on existing ecosystems, and the difficulty of teaching a resurrected mammoth to behave like its extinct ancestors. The company aims to use the technology for conservation efforts and climate change, but questions persist about the practicality and implications of bringing back extinct species.
Archaeologists have discovered 13,000-year-old blood residue from large mammals, most likely mammoths and mastodons, embedded in the sharpened stones that ancient Clovis people used for hunting. The 120 stones used in the study all came from North or South Carolina. The findings would shed new light on what might have caused the extinction of giant Ice Age herbivores.
A University of Florida paleontology team has discovered the remains of prehistoric creatures such as rhinos, mammoths, and sabretooth cats on a North Central Florida property. The team has been hand-digging the site for seven years and recently discovered the incredibly intact remains of a giant gomphothere, a 10,000-pound, four-tusk relative of an elephant that roamed the area before humans. Florida is one of the richest states when it comes to paleontology, and new discoveries are being made every day.
Hormonal signatures have been identified in woolly mammoth tusks for the first time, according to a paper published in Nature. The discovery opens up a new field of paleontology called palaeoendocrinology, which studies hormones in ancient species. The team used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to identify testosterone in the tusks of male elephants and woolly mammoths. The tusks record the life of the animal, including growth rings and hints of animal health, and the team hopes to identify additional hormones to gain further insight into the lives of extinct species.