Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
New study suggests that early humans stole mammoth carcasses from lions
7 views
Skip to first unread message
Steven L.
Apr 4, 2012, 3:19:15 PM4/4/12
to
Lions and humans likely collaborated in mammoth slaughter
A recently unearthed, strawberry-blond mammoth specimen from Siberia
gives researchers new information about how humans and lions hunted.
By Nora Doyle-Burr, Contributor / April 4, 2012
After being frozen under Siberian ice for at least 10,000 years,
well-preserved, recently discovered mammoth remains are providing clues
about the past.
The details of how the massive mammal lived and died are still being
interpreted by scientists. But it looks like hungry humans played a role
in its demise.
"This is the first relatively complete mammoth carcass -- that is, a
body with soft tissues preserved -- to show evidence of human
association," Daniel Fisher, curator and director of the University of
Michigan's Museum of Paleontology, told Discovery News.
From scratches in the mammoth's hide and bite marks in the tail it looks
like the mammoth, known as Yuka, was chased by lions. Not long before
death, Yuka also appears to have fallen, breaking a hind leg.
Humans apparently butchered the strawberry-blond beast, taking what they
wanted. Clues to the role humans played in slaughtering Yuka include the
absence of the skull, spine, ribs and pelvis. In addition, the shapes
and patterns of the cuts indicate the use of human tools.
It's possible that people intentionally used the lions to wear down
their prey and then drove the lions off to harvest the meat for
themselves. Even now, a tribe in Kenya called the Dorobo steals prey
from lions.
After taking what they could immediately use, suggests Fisher, the
humans may have buried the animal with plans of returning later. "What
remains now would then be 'leftovers' that were never retrieved," he
suggested to the Discovery Channel.
This specimen will help researchers connect the physical features of
Yuka with DNA information, according to Kevin Campbell, a University of
Manitoba scientist who reconstructed mammoth hemoglobin in 2010.
In future mammoth findings, scientists will be able to infer physical
characteristics like eye or hair color directly from genetic material,
according to the BBC.
The expedition was part of a collaboration between the BBC and the
Discovery Channel.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0404/Lions-and-humans-likely-collaborated-in-mammoth-slaughter
-- Steven L.
A recently unearthed, strawberry-blond mammoth specimen from Siberia
gives researchers new information about how humans and lions hunted.
By Nora Doyle-Burr, Contributor / April 4, 2012
After being frozen under Siberian ice for at least 10,000 years,
well-preserved, recently discovered mammoth remains are providing clues
about the past.
The details of how the massive mammal lived and died are still being
interpreted by scientists. But it looks like hungry humans played a role
in its demise.
"This is the first relatively complete mammoth carcass -- that is, a
body with soft tissues preserved -- to show evidence of human
association," Daniel Fisher, curator and director of the University of
Michigan's Museum of Paleontology, told Discovery News.
From scratches in the mammoth's hide and bite marks in the tail it looks
like the mammoth, known as Yuka, was chased by lions. Not long before
death, Yuka also appears to have fallen, breaking a hind leg.
Humans apparently butchered the strawberry-blond beast, taking what they
wanted. Clues to the role humans played in slaughtering Yuka include the
absence of the skull, spine, ribs and pelvis. In addition, the shapes
and patterns of the cuts indicate the use of human tools.
It's possible that people intentionally used the lions to wear down
their prey and then drove the lions off to harvest the meat for
themselves. Even now, a tribe in Kenya called the Dorobo steals prey
from lions.
After taking what they could immediately use, suggests Fisher, the
humans may have buried the animal with plans of returning later. "What
remains now would then be 'leftovers' that were never retrieved," he
suggested to the Discovery Channel.
This specimen will help researchers connect the physical features of
Yuka with DNA information, according to Kevin Campbell, a University of
Manitoba scientist who reconstructed mammoth hemoglobin in 2010.
In future mammoth findings, scientists will be able to infer physical
characteristics like eye or hair color directly from genetic material,
according to the BBC.
The expedition was part of a collaboration between the BBC and the
Discovery Channel.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0404/Lions-and-humans-likely-collaborated-in-mammoth-slaughter
-- Steven L.
Ron O
Apr 7, 2012, 8:28:21 AM4/7/12
to
>
> -- Steven L.
What about the hypothesis that the mammoth was long dead and exposed
out of the permafrost for some number of years? The human slaughter
sounds like they wanted building materials rather than meat. The
carcass may have remained frozen, but would be partially exposed.
Evidence from other carcasses indicate that those carcasses were
probably visible after freezing from time to time over centuries.
Ron Okimoto
0 new messages