Last Ice Age – Where the mammoth “Elma” once migrated – to die there – Knowledge




Last Ice Age – Where the mammoth “Elma” once migrated – to die there – Knowledge – SRF























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14,000 years ago, a female mammoth undertook a 1,000 kilometer journey. Her tusk reveals where this ended.

Élmayųujey’eh, or Elma for short, began her journey in northwestern Canada. By the way, the female mammoth was named this by the village council of Healy Lake. After 1000 kilometers, Elma landed in the interior of Alaska – in the area where the early Alaskans lived. A research team from the University of Alaska Fairbanks is now publishing details about Elma’s trip. in the journal Science Advances.

Elma follows familiar paths

A large part of Elma’s journey overlaps with that one of a male mammoth that lived 3,000 years before her. This proves that mammoths maintained their movement patterns over several millennia.

Why a mammoth tusk is comparable to tree rings


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The tusks of mammoths reveal a lot about their lives. Teeth grow throughout an animal’s life. If you split a tooth lengthwise, it shows clearly visible layers – comparable to tree rings.

In the case of the female woolly mammoth Elma, the research team took thousands of samples along the tusk. It then examined these samples to create a chronological record of Elma’s life.

More specifically, the researchers examined so-called isotopes from the tusk samples. These isotopes provide chemical markers of the mammoth’s diet and location. The markers are stored in bones and tissues and remain intact even after death.

Did humans kill Elma?

One of Elma’s tusks was found at a hunting camp at the Swan Point archaeological site in Interior Alaska. Pure random?

At least the authors of the study assume that mammoths attracted people to the area. This, along with evidence of campfires, stone tools and butchered remains of other wildlife, points to mammoth hunting.



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