Emily Chan
However, researchers now think the two species may have crossed paths as far back as 800 years ago.
Evidence of humans was detected in the same layer of soil as the mammoth bones, indicating that they were both from the same time period of roughly 13,700 to 11,800 years ago.
Radiocarbon dating of the ivory and bone artifacts was also from the same time range and showed that people were making tools and objects from animals that were alive at the same time as them.
The mammoth bones were likely leftover products of ivory craftwork. Meanwhile, the foxes and hares were hunted for their furs, which were used to create warm clothing during the last ice age.
Some bones were de-fleshed before being deposited into the graveyard rather than dumped with the meat still attached.
The bones had also been sorted, with the collection containing the less desirable parts, such as spinal columns and tarsal and carpal bones.
Over the years, the population of humans in the area fluctuated, which may have been due to environmental changes.
The fluctuations coincided with the amount of mammoth bones in the graveyard. Even after mammoth populations declined significantly, humans stayed in the region.
Based upon these findings, the team concluded that the bones ended up in the same spot because of human predation and gathering throughout 700 to 800 years. It was the most likely explanation, as it would have provided the most benefits for humans.
The study was published in the Quaternary Science Reviews.
