The tumultuous life of a 17,000 year old woolly mammoth told by its fangs

[EN VIDÉO] The mystery of the fourth giant is finally solved In 150 years, only four mammoths have been found in France. This sample, excavated at Changis-sur-Marne, is remarkably well preserved. This amazing documentary from Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) is about a careful investigation to understand what happened to this animal.

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The remains of a 17,000-year-old woolly mammoth have been unearthed on Alaska’s northern slopes, beyond the circle. Arctic. Author of a study published in the journal science can reconstruct the movement of the animal throughout its life.

Mammoth teeth set a special environmental note, because every day from birth to death, growth paths are added. This line contains chemical elements which is a characteristic of food and thus the environment in which the individual finds himself.

Organizations that can provide such records hereby resolution rarely (see mollusk bivalve and sclerochronology), the analysis of the structure they developed, is therefore a wonderful opportunity to understand the past and the environmentecology little change.

The study authors first cut the mammoth teeth, which were about six feet long, lengthwise and took nearly 400,000 samples from the surface to analyze them. isotope, especially from strontium and oxygen throughout the animal’s life.

The authors suspect the massive movement of mammoths. However, they were unable to find out which region of Alaska corresponds to the collected isotope values ​​without prior reference maps. They therefore analyzed isotopes in the teeth of hundreds of small, non-migrating Alaskan rodents found in museum collections. Thus they were able to establish a relationship between the isotope values ​​and the specific area of ​​Alaska.

The researchers then modeled the mammoth’s most likely migration route, including taking into account geographic barriers, to determine its movement.

An excellent traveler

The research team concluded that in 28 years how far did mammoths travel in Alaska it is almost twice the circumference of the earth! One of the study’s authors and researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Matthew Wooller, explains that mammoths visited some remote places in Alaska, which is especially impressive when you consider the area of ​​this area (over 1.5 million square kilometers). However, the authors cannot say whether the mammoths made seasonal migrations or shifted to other factors.

L’DNA mammoth determined that the individual is male and of which he belongs from the last representative of his species on the continent of Alaska. Isotope changes in its defenses around the age of 15 may also coincide with its departure from the herd, as is the case with modern elephant. Isotope peaks ofnitrogen which was finally found during the last winter his life states that this woolly mammoth died of starvation.