Numerous bones of mammoths have been found in the sites of the ancient man of the Stone Age; drawings and sculptures of mammoths made by prehistoric man were also found. In Siberia and Alaska, there are known cases of finding the corpses of mammoths, preserved due to their stay in the thickness of permafrost. The main types of mammoths did not exceed modern elephants in size (at the same time, the North American subspecies mammuthus imperator reached a height of 5 meters and a mass of 12 tons, and dwarf species Mammothus exilis And Mammothus lamarmorae did not exceed 2 meters in height and weighed up to 900 kg), but had a more massive body, shorter legs, long hair and long curved tusks; the latter could serve the mammoth for food in winter time from under the snow. Mammoth molars with numerous thin dentin-enamel plates were well adapted for chewing coarse plant food.

Mammoth Dima extracted from permafrost

One of the latest, most massive and southernmost burials of mammoths is located on the territory of the Kargatsky district of the Novosibirsk region, in the upper reaches of the Bagan River in the Volchya Griva area. It is estimated that there are at least 1,500 mammoth skeletons here. Some of the bones bear traces of human processing, which allows us to build various hypotheses about the habitation of ancient people in Siberia.

Skeleton

According to the structure of the skeleton, the mammoth bears a significant resemblance to the living Indian elephant, which was somewhat larger, reaching 5.5 m in length and 3.1 m in height. Huge mammoth tusks, up to 4 m in length, weighing up to 100 kg, were inserted into the upper jaw, pushed forward, bent upwards and diverged to the sides.

The molars, which the mammoths had one in each half of the jaw, are somewhat wider than those of the elephant, and differ big amount and hardness of lamellar enamel boxes filled with dental substance.

Reconstructed appearance of a 5-year-old mammoth

History of study

Map of finds of mammoth bones in Russia

Native American legends about mammoths

1. Asian group, which appeared more than 450 thousand years ago; 2. american group, which appeared about 450 thousand years ago; 3. an intercontinental group that migrated from North America about 300 thousand years ago

Notes

Synonyms:

See what "Mammoth" is in other dictionaries:

    - (from Tat. mamma earth, because the Tungus and Yakuts think that the mammoth burrows underground like a mole). A four-legged fossil similar to an elephant but larger. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    The sources for the reconstruction of the mythopoetic image of M. are the images of M. (engraved, the oldest of them in the cave of La Madeleine, France; picturesque, sculptural), known throughout the northern zone of Eurasia, China and some adjacent ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

    Mammoth, mamut husband. a fossil animal, partly similar to an elephant, but even larger than it. related to him. Mammoth bone, fossil fangs of it, going to handicrafts. Dictionary Dahl. IN AND. Dal. 1863 1866 ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

    - (Mammuthus primigenius), an extinct species of elephant. Known from the 2nd half of the Pleistocene of Eurasia and North. America. In size, it was somewhat larger than the modern. elephants, had a more massive body, shorter legs and tail, long hair and ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

    Strong man, big man, closet, mastodon, big man, mammoth Dictionary of Russian synonyms. mammoth n., number of synonyms: 10 tall (36) ... Synonym dictionary

† Woolly mammoth

scientific classification
Kingdom:

Animals
Type:

chordates
Subtype:

Vertebrates
Class:

mammals
Squad:

proboscis
Family:

Elephant
Genus:
View:

woolly mammoth
International scientific name

Mammothus primigenius Blumenbach, 1799

woolly mammoth, or Siberian mammoth(lat. Mammothus primigenius) is an extinct species of the elephant family.

Description

Fragments of a mammoth tusk (Rtishchevsky Museum of Local History)

The height at the withers of large mammoth males was about 3 meters, and the weight did not exceed 5-6 tons. The females were noticeably smaller than the males. The high withers made the silhouette of the beast somewhat humpbacked.

The entire body of the mammoth was covered with thick wool. The length of the hair on the shoulders, hips and sides of an adult animal reached almost a meter, resulting in a long suspension, which, like a skirt, covered the belly and upper limbs. Thick, dense undercoat, covered with coarse outer hair, reliably protected the animal from the cold. The color of the coat varied from brown, in some places almost black, to yellow-brown and reddish. The cubs were colored somewhat lighter, with a predominance of yellow-brown and reddish tones. The size of the mammoth was about the same as that of modern elephants, but thick and long hair made his figure more impressive.

The head of the mammoth was massive, the top of the head was stretched upwards, on the crown of her head was crowned with a "cap" of hard black hair. The fur-covered ears were small, smaller than those of the Indian elephant. The tail is short, with a brush of long, very stiff and thick black hair at the end. Protection from the cold, in addition to small ears and thick undercoat, was, according to academician V.V. Zalensky, the anal valve - a fold of skin under the tail covering the anus. From the skin glands of the mammoth, the sebaceous glands of the skin and the postorbital gland were discovered, with the secret of which modern elephants mark the territory during the breeding season.

The appearance of the mammoth was complemented by huge tusks, which had a kind of spiral curvature. When leaving the jaw, they were directed downward and somewhat to the sides, and their ends were bent inward, towards each other. With age, the curvature of the tusks, especially in males, increased, so that in very old animals their ends almost closed or crossed. The tusks of large males reached a length of 4 m, and their weight reached 110 kg. In females, the tusks were less curved and thinner at the base. Mammoth tusks from a young age have wear zones, indicating their intensive use. They are located differently than in modern elephants, on the outside of the tusks. There are suggestions that with the help of tusks, mammoths raked snow and dug out food from under it, stripped bark from trees, and in snowless cold times they broke out pieces of ice to quench their thirst.

To grind food on each side of the upper and lower jaws at the same time, the mammoth had only one, but very large tooth. The change of teeth took place in a horizontal direction, the back tooth moved forward and pushed out the worn front one, which was a small remnant of 2-3 enamel plates. During the life of the animal in each half of the jaw, 6 teeth were successively replaced, of which the first three were considered milk teeth, and the last three were permanent, molars. When the last of them was completely erased, the beast lost its ability to feed and died.

The chewing surface of the mammoth's teeth is a wide and long plate covered with transverse enamel ridges. These teeth are highly durable and well preserved, so they are found much more often than other bone remains of the animal.

Compared to modern elephants, the mammoth was slightly shorter-legged. This is due to the fact that he ate mainly pasture, while his modern relatives tend to eat branches and leaves of trees, tearing them off. high altitude. The limbs of the mammoth resembled columns. The sole of the feet was covered with unusually hard keratinized skin 5-6 cm thick, dotted with deep cracks. Above inside the soles had a special elastic cushion, which played the role of a shock absorber during movement, due to which the mammoth's step was light and silent. On cutting edge soles had small nail-like hooves, 3 on the forelimbs and 4 on the hind limbs. From the impact of the moist soil of the coastal tundra steppe, the hooves grew and, acquiring ugly forms, clearly interfered with the mammoths. The diameter of the trace of a large mammoth reached almost half a meter. The legs of the beast, due to its enormous weight, produced great pressure on the ground, so the mammoths avoided viscous and swampy places whenever possible.

Spreading

The well-known Russian paleontologist A.V. Sher put forward a hypothesis that the woolly mammoth was native to northeast Siberia (Western Beringia). The most ancient remains (about 800 thousand years ago) of this species of mammoths are known from the valley of the Kolyma River, from where it subsequently settled in Europe and, as the ice age intensified, in North America.

Habitat and lifestyle

The way of life and habitats of mammoths cannot yet be convincingly reconstructed. However, by analogy with modern elephants, it can be assumed that mammoths were herd animals. This is confirmed by paleontological finds. In the herd of mammoths, just like the elephants, there was a leader, most likely an old female. The males held on individual groups or singly. Probably, during seasonal migrations, mammoths united in huge herds.

The vast expanses of tundra-steppes were heterogeneous in biotope productivity. Most likely, the places richest in food were river valleys and lake basins. There were thickets of tall grasses and sedges. In hilly areas, mammoths could feed mainly on the bottom of the valleys, where there were more shrubs of dwarf willow and birch. Great amount The amount of food consumed suggests that mammoths, like modern elephants, led a mobile lifestyle and often changed their habitat.

Apparently in warm time years, the animals fed mainly on grassy vegetation. In the frozen intestines of two mammoths that died in the warm season, sedges and grasses (especially cotton grass) predominate, lingonberry bushes, green mosses and thin shoots of willow, birch, and alder were found in small quantities. The contents of the stomach filled with food of one of the mammoths weighed about 250 kg. It can be assumed that in winter, especially in snowy conditions, the diet of the mammoth great importance acquired shoots of trees and shrubs.

Findings of mummies of mammoth cubs - mammoths, somewhat expanded the understanding of the biology of these animals. Now we can assume that mammoths were born in early spring, their body was completely covered with thick hair. By the arrival of winter, they were already growing noticeably and could make long trips together with adults, for example, migrating south at the end of autumn.

Of the predators, the most dangerous for mammoths were cave lions. It is possible that a sick or distressed animal also fell prey to wolves or hyenas. No one could threaten healthy adult mammoths, and only with the advent of active human hunting for mammoths did they become constantly endangered.

Extinction

There are several theories about the extinction of woolly mammoths, but the specific reasons for their death remain a mystery. The extinction of mammoths probably occurred gradually and not simultaneously in different parts their vast range. As the living conditions worsened, the habitat area of ​​the animals narrowed, split into small areas. The number of animals decreased, the fertility of females decreased and the mortality of young animals increased. It is very likely that mammoths died out earlier in Europe and somewhat later in northeastern Siberia, where natural conditions did not change so drastically. 3-4 thousand years ago, mammoths finally disappeared from the face of the earth. The last mammoth populations survived the longest in northeastern Siberia and on Wrangel Island.

Finds on the territory of the Rtishchevsky district

Part of the jaw of a mammoth. Found near the village of Yelan in 1927. Serdobsk Museum of Local Lore

On the territory of the present Rtishchevsky district, bones, teeth and tusks of mammoths were often found.

In the same year, mammoth bones were found on the washed-out bank of the Iznair River near the village of Zmeevka.

On September 9, in the Kalinovo ravine near the village of Yelan, archaeologists discovered the humerus of the front leg of a mammoth. The length of the bone is 80 cm, in diameter - 17 cm and in circumference - 44.4 cm. Here, in the spring flood of the year, the peasant M. T. Tareev found a well-preserved mammoth tusk. The length of the tusk was more than two meters, weight - about 70 kg. These finds are stored in the funds of the Serdobsk Museum of Local Lore.

In the early 1970s, near the village named after Maxim Gorky, mammoth bones were discovered. According to eyewitnesses, they were discovered by a fifth grade student of the Shilo-Golitsyn high school Sasha Gurkin. As a result of excavations, vertebrae, shoulder blades, leg bones, ribs and a piece of tusk were recovered from the clay slope of a deep ravine. The remaining parts of the skeleton could not be found. Next to the bones of an adult animal, a fibula, clearly belonging to a cub, was found.

Parts of a tusk and teeth of a mammoth are stored in the Rtishchevsk Museum of Local Lore.

Literature

  • Izotova M. A. The history of the study of archaeological sites of the Rtishevsky district of the Saratov region. - S. 236
  • Kuvanov A. Into the depths of centuries (From the cycle of essays "Rtishchevo") // Lenin's Way. - December 15, 1970. - S. 4
  • Oleinikov N. From time immemorial // Lenin's Way. - May 22, 1971. - S. 4
  • Tikhonov A.N. Mammoth. - M. - St. Petersburg: Association of scientific publications KMK, 2005. - 90 p. (Series "Animal Diversity". Issue 3)

Mammoth is a mystery that has been exciting the curiosity of researchers for more than two hundred years. What were these how they lived and why did they die out? All these questions still do not have exact answers. Some scientists blame them mass death hunger, the second - glacial period, others - ancient hunters who destroyed herds for the sake of meat, skins and tusks. There is no official version.

Who are mammoths

The ancient mammoth was a mammal that belonged to the elephant family. The main species had sizes comparable to those of their close relatives - elephants. Their weight often did not exceed 900 kg, growth did not go beyond 2 meters. However, there were also more "representative" varieties, whose weight reached 13 tons, and their height was 6 meters.

Mammoths differed from elephants in a bulkier body, short legs and long hair. characteristic feature- curved big tusks, which were used by prehistoric animals to dig out food from under the snow blockages. They also had molars with a large number of dentin-enamel thin plates that served to process fibrous roughage.

Appearance

The structure of the skeleton, which possessed ancient mammoth, in many ways resembles the structure of the Indian elephant living today. Of greatest interest are giant tusks, the length of which could reach up to 4 meters, weight - up to 100 kg. They were located in the upper jaw, grew forward and bent upwards, "parting" to the sides.

The tail and ears, tightly pressed to the skull, were small in size, there was a straight black bang on the head, and a hump stood out on the back. A large body with a slightly lowered back was based on stable legs-pillars. The feet had an almost horn-like (very thick) sole, reaching a diameter of 50 cm.

The coat had a light brown or yellowish-brown tint, the tail, legs and withers were decorated with noticeable black spots. Fur "skirt" fell from the sides, almost reaching the ground. The "clothing" of prehistoric animals was very warm.

Tusk

Mammoth is an animal whose tusk was unique not only for its increased strength, but also for its unique range of colors. The bones lay underground for several millennia, underwent mineralization. Their shades have found a wide range - from purple to snow-white. The darkening that occurred as a result of the work of nature increases the value of the tusk.

The tusks of prehistoric animals were not as perfect as the tools of elephants. They easily grinded, acquired cracks. It is believed that mammoths used them to get food for themselves - branches, tree bark. Sometimes the animals formed 4 tusks, the second pair was distinguished by subtlety, often fused with the main one.

Unique colors make mammoth tusks in demand in the production of elite caskets, snuff boxes, and chess sets. They are used to create gift figurines, ladies' jewelry, expensive weapons. Artificial reproduction of special colors is not possible, which is the reason for the high cost of products created on the basis of mammoth tusks. Real, of course, not fake.

Weekdays of mammoths

60 years - average duration the lives of giants who lived on earth several millennia ago. Mammoth - it served mainly as food for him herbaceous plants, tree shoots, small shrubs, moss. The daily norm is about 250 kg of vegetation, which forced the animals to spend about 18 hours daily on food, constantly changing their location in search of fresh pastures.

Researchers are convinced that mammoths practiced a herd lifestyle, gathered in small groups. The standard group consisted of 9-10 adult representatives of the species, and calves were also present. As a rule, the role of the leader of the herd was assigned to the oldest female.

By the age of 10, the animals reached sexual maturity. Mature males at this time left the maternal herd, moving to a solitary existence.

Habitat

Modern research has established that mammoths, which appeared on earth about 4.8 million years ago, disappeared only about 4 thousand years ago, and not 9-10, as previously thought. These animals lived on the lands of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Bones of powerful animals, drawings and sculptures depicting them are often found at the sites of ancient inhabitants.

Mammoths in Russia were also common in in large numbers, Siberia is famous for its especially interesting finds. A huge "cemetery" of these animals was discovered in Khanty-Mansiysk, even a monument was erected in their honor. By the way, it was in the lower reaches of the Lena that the remains of a mammoth were first (officially) found.

Mammoths in Russia, or rather, their remains, are still being discovered.

Causes of extinction

Until now, the history of mammoths has large gaps. In particular, this concerns the causes of their extinction. Various versions are being put forward. The original hypothesis was put forward by Jean Baptiste Lamarck. According to the scientist, the absolute extinction of a biological species is not possible, it only turns into another. However, the official descendants of mammoths in currently not identified.

I do not agree with my colleague, blaming the death of mammoths on floods (or other global cataclysms that took place during the period of the disappearance of the population). He argues that the Earth often faced short-term catastrophes that completely exterminated a certain species.

Brocki, a paleontologist originally from Italy, believes that a certain period of existence is allotted to every living creature on the planet. The scientist compares the disappearance of entire species with the aging and death of the body, therefore, in his opinion, the mysterious story mammoths.

The most popular theory, which has many adherents in the scientific community, is climate. About 15-10 thousand years ago due to northern zone the tundra steppe became a swamp, the southern one was filled coniferous forests. Herbs, which previously formed the basis of the diet of animals, were replaced by moss and branches, which, according to scientists, led to their extinction.

ancient hunters

How the first people hunted mammoths has not been exactly established so far. It was the hunters of those times who are often accused of exterminating large animals. The version is supported by products made from tusks and skins, which are constantly found in the sites of the inhabitants of ancient times.

However, modern research makes this assumption more and more doubtful. According to a number of scientists, people only finished off weak and sick representatives of the species, not hunting healthy ones. Bogdanov, the creator of the work "Secrets of the Lost Civilization", makes reasonable arguments in favor of the impossibility of hunting mammoths. He believes that the weapons possessed by the inhabitants ancient earth, it is simply impossible to break through the skin of these animals.

Another strong argument is the sinewy tough meat, almost unsuitable for food.

Close relatives

Elefasprimigenius - this is the name of mammoths on Latin. The name indicates their close relationship with elephants, as the translation sounds like "first-born elephant." There are even hypotheses that the mammoth is the progenitor of modern elephants, which were the result of evolution, adaptation to a warm climate.

A study by German scientists who compared the DNA of a mammoth and an elephant suggests that Indian elephant and mammoth are two branches whose genealogy is traced back to African elephant for about 6 million years. The ancestor of this animal, as shown by modern discoveries, lived on Earth about 7 million years ago, which makes the version have the right to exist.

Known specimens

"The Last Mammoth" is a title given to baby Dimka, a six-month-old mammoth whose remains were found by workers in 1977 near Magadan. About 40 thousand years ago, this baby fell through the ice, which caused his mummification. This is by far the best surviving specimen that has been discovered by mankind. Dimka has become a source of valuable information for those involved in the study of an extinct species.

Equally famous is the mammoth Adams, who became the first full-fledged skeleton that was shown to the public. This happened back in 1808, since then the copy has been located in the Museum of the Academy of Sciences. The find belonged to the hunter Osip Shumakhov, who lived by collecting mammoth bones.

The Berezovsky mammoth has a similar history, it was also found by a tusk hunter on the banks of one of the rivers in Siberia. The conditions for the excavation of the remains could not be called favorable, the extraction was carried out in parts. The preserved mammoth bones became the basis for a giant skeleton, soft tissues became the object of study. Death overtook the animal at 55 years old.

Matilda, a female of a prehistoric species, was completely discovered by schoolchildren. An event happened in 1939, the remains were discovered on the banks of the Oesh River.

Revival is possible

Modern researchers do not cease to be interested in such a prehistoric animal as a mammoth. The significance of prehistoric finds for science is nothing more than the motivation underlying all attempts to resurrect it. So far, attempts to clone the extinct species have not yielded tangible results. This is due to the lack of material of the required quality. However, research in this area does not seem to stop. At present scientists rely on the remains of a female found not so long ago. The specimen is valuable because it has preserved liquid blood.

Despite the failure of cloning, it is proved that the appearance of the ancient inhabitant of the Earth has been restored exactly, as well as his habits. Mammoths look exactly as they are presented on the pages of textbooks. Most interesting discovery- the closer the period of residence of the discovered biological species to our time, the more fragile its skeleton is.

Among the thousands of extinct species there is also an animal mammoth. Scientists are trying to reproduce this species. But they fail to find viable cells for IVF. Probably, people will never see a live mammoth, but we can tell you about it.

These mysterious animals mammoths

Man has always been interested and will be interested in what our Earth was like in ancient times, what plants grew on it, what animals inhabited its vast expanses.

Conducting numerous archaeological excavations, scientists discovered the existence of mysterious animals that lived on Earth 2 million years ago.

Recreated from the remains of the skeleton and bones, these huge animals, almost 6 m high and weighing 12 tons, inspire fear. Their tusks looked especially menacing, curved, up to 4 m long.

In fact, despite their big sizes, these animals were harmless, as they ate only plant foods. To grind this rough food, nature rewarded the beast with a special structure of teeth in the form of many thin plates.

Who are mammoths

You guessed who in question? Of course, these are mammoths. The ancient ancestors of modern elephants, they lived on almost all continents - North America, Africa, Eurasia. But although mammoths look like elephants, they were twice the size of the largest species of them today - African elephants.


From external signs, besides a massive body and curved tusks, short legs and long hair are also characteristic.

One of the mammoth species that lived in Siberia 300 thousand years ago was called woolly.

All about the woolly mammoth

His coat was thick and almost 1 m long. It is clear that she constantly strayed into hanging tufts. The thick undercoat did not allow the animal to freeze in winter.

The same purpose was served by a thick layer of fat 10 cm under the skin. The color of the coat was most likely dark brown or black tones. Although the surviving remnants of the hair are more of a reddish color, scientists believe that she simply faded.

Woolly mammoths were not as large as all species. And they were the last ones to disappear from the Earth.

It was possible to establish that mammoths led the same way of life as elephants. They lived in a group. It was more often than 9 mammoths different ages. The female commanded everything, that is, these animals had a matriarchy. The males lived separately from the group.


Their main food is grass. But they also ate branches of various deciduous trees and even pine. This was established after examining the contents of the stomach of a mammoth found on the Indigirka River.

In general, their remains were often found in Siberia. The largest burial found in Novosibirsk region. The bones of 1500 individuals are buried under the layers of earth!

Many bones were already processed by man. This suggests that mammoth bones and tusks have long been used by people for their needs.

Nowadays mammoth tusk - valuable material for the manufacture of expensive and beautiful figurines, caskets, chess, beautiful bracelets, combs and other souvenirs and jewelry. Tusk-encrusted weapons are also highly prized by collectors.

Why mammoths became extinct


Mammoth Dima - there were hopes for him to reproduce this lost animal species

Name two reasons for the disappearance of mammoths.

  • The first is that they were simply exterminated by people for food.
  • The second is global cooling. The vegetation that the mammoths ate died out and, accordingly, the animals died.

It has not yet been possible to establish the exact reasons, so other, sometimes exotic versions are being put forward.

The remains of some mammoths are so well preserved that many museums have recreated life-size stuffed animals. For example, the Zoological Museum of the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has one of these unique exhibits. It seems that he is about to raise a huge paw and budge.

Mammoths - amazing mammals that have died out from climate change. They are distant relatives of modern elephants.

When did mammoths become extinct?

The mammoth species is one of the most well-studied in modern paleontology. First of all, this can be explained by the fact that they lived on Earth relatively recently and were even contemporaries of man. Until now, researchers often stumble upon the remains of these animals.

So when did mammoths go extinct? This happened about 10 thousand years ago, when the last global cooling in the world climate happened. Because of this, a fierce species struggle for survival began. People who by this time had mastered various hunting tools became a threat to all mammoths. One carcass of such an animal could for a long time feed the tribe. Because of this, the range of these proboscideans has increasingly decreased.

Fight with man

Paleontologists most often find the remains of giant animals at the sites of ancient people. The bones were carefully processed with stone tools, so that later they could be used as tools in everyday life. Hunters had to come up with a lot of tricks to catch such a hulk as a mammoth. did not succumb to the blows of primitive spears. Of course, it was absolutely impossible for a person to overcome such a creature alone. Therefore, they hunted him in groups. On the paths where mammoths roamed out of habit, camouflaged holes were dug, where the animal fell and became easy prey. Often spears or darts were aimed at the groin - one of the few weaknesses. Similar techniques were used by the natives of Africa in the 19th century when hunting local elephants.

Impact of climate change

In addition, there was another important reason why mammoths died out. These animals did not have enough food. Many of the species that they ate died out due to the cold snap (a total of 34 species disappeared during this period). Lack of food and human threat led to the fact that not a single mammoth remained in the world. This phenomenon of mass extinction due to changes in living conditions in modern science called the Great Holocene Extinction.

There are several minor indications that the theory that climate has become main reason extinction of these mammals. When mammoths died out, not only other animals, but also individual human communities disappeared with them. For example, such was the Clovis culture. It was made up of natives living in Central and North America. That is, the coexistence of mammoths and people did not cause the extinction of proboscideans.

Climate change included not only sharp cooling (changing the diet), but also warming, which already directly hit these giants. The retreat of ice and taiga to the north forced them to migrate farther and farther to extreme latitudes, where they eventually died out.

The last mammoths

Recent discoveries show that even after the extinction of woolly elephants on the mainland, some isolated colonies existed on separate archipelagos. For example, bones were found on Wrangel Island, whose age was about 4 thousand years. So scientists proved that isolated flocks still took place when the pyramids were already being built in ancient Egypt, and the Mycenaean civilization appeared in Greece. Of course, the inhabitants of the then Mediterranean did not know when the mammoths died out.

The mammoth period lasted an extra thousand years. However, these animals differed from those that were previously distributed throughout Eurasia. Their size rarely reached 1.5 meters. This was due to the fact that the food chain has changed a lot. Mammoths had to reduce the diet, which affected the growth of individuals in childhood. These data became known after the teeth found on Wrangel Island by Russian paleontologists in 1993 were studied and analyzed. The last "dwarf" community no longer knew predators that could be a threat to them. Therefore, most of the discovered fossils correspond to older individuals.

When mammoths died out on the mainland, other species took their place. On Wrangel Island, the isolated community continued to exist and develop peacefully. However, why did mammoths die out on this small piece of land? Perhaps a man was in charge here. Unlike the previous era, when mammoths inhabited millions of square kilometers, killing just a few individuals on one island could upset the balance within the community.

Age of the mammoth

Now that it has become clear how many years ago mammoths died out, we can talk about the environment in which they survived their heyday. This period took place about 120 thousand years ago. At this time, mammoths lived not only in modern Siberia, but also in Europe, right up to Spain. In Asia, this habitat line reached the shores of the Caspian Sea. Here, too, were found the remains left after the extinction of mammoths. The era of their dominance in the surrounding fauna lasted several tens of millennia.

The climate helped the mammoths. Eurasia experienced three severe cooling spells during which glaciers appeared far to the south of polar circle. greatly reduced the area of ​​impenetrable forests. Conversely, the size of the steppes suitable for mammoths has increased significantly.

mammoth neighbors

Around these giants there was always a rich fauna, with which they somehow contacted. These were reindeer, hairy rhinos, musk oxen, horses, yaks, cave bears, saigas. From small mammals it is worth noting lemmings, ground squirrels, etc. In total, about 80 species of fauna can be listed.

When, due to gradual warming, dense forests replaced the native tundra-steppes, mammoths left these places. So their range was reduced, and in the end they completely disappeared.

Mammoths in folklore

The peoples today keep many legends about the woolly giants who once lived on their land. Siberia was a place where mammoth hunting used to flourish. Komi, Khanty, Mansi and other indigenous inhabitants of the endless tundra have preserved legends about them in their folklore. In addition, even before the Europeans, it was these people who often found relic teeth and bones that were used in everyday life or as expensive jewelry.

The Eskimos of Alaska carved the image of these mammals on their weapons made from walrus bones. The Laplanders, who live in northern Scandinavia, believe that mammoths are furry giants that hide underground. The Chukchi of Eastern Siberia have preserved legends about mammoths as carriers of an evil spirit.

These animals from Eurasia came to America. In the folklore of the Indians, there are also legends about "huge bison." Mammoth hunting was widespread both on one and on the other mainland. Due to global cooling, the level of the world's oceans has dropped significantly, which made it possible for animals and people to travel from one part of the world to another.