Emily Chan
At a site in eastern Siberia, a collection of mammoth bones, referred to as a “mammoth graveyard,” was discovered in the 1940s.
The remains belonged to hundreds of different woolly mammoths. Back then, it was believed they had naturally accumulated in the area, possibly due to a mass extinction event.
But, new research suggests that the bones were actually transferred there by humans over the span of 800 years for the production of ivory and bone tools.
The discovery may provide a clearer look into the dynamics between prehistoric humans and mammoths.
A team of researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences explored the site, which was located along the Berelekh River.
They stumbled upon not just mammoth bones but also the remains of Pleistocene hares, Arctic foxes, and wolves.
Additionally, they discovered charcoal and soot from hearths, as well as mammoth tusks that were altered by humans.
The mammoth graveyard was just a short distance away from a prehistoric human settlement. Excavations revealed numerous artifacts made from the fragments of mammoth bones, such as tools and an engraving of a mammoth.
In the past, studies have claimed that the pile of mammoth bones occurred naturally before humans settled in the region and that humans had simply scavenged them and reused them for other purposes.
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