Mammoth

A large extinct species of elephant (Mammuthus) which became adapted to Ice Age conditions in the northern hemisphere about a quarter of a million years ago. It was perhaps the largest animal hunted by Palaeolithic man. It is possible that they were killed by spearing, as no pit traps have ever been found near their carcasses. At Gravettian hunters' camp-sites in Moravia and the Ukraine, large numbers of mammoth bones have been found, and even houses built from them. The woolly mammoth spread across Eurasia into North America, and became extinct c 11,000-10,000 BC. They were frequently depicted in Palaeolithic art and complete carcasses have been found in Siberia and Alaska. They subsisted mainly on open grassy vegetation. The two main species were woolly mammoth and the Columbian mammoth.

A type of elephant. The woolly mammoth, Mammuthus (Elephas) primi-genius, evolved from an earlier form of mammoth, Mammuthus (Elephas) trogon-therii, about a quarter of a million years ago, and was perhaps the largest animal hunted by Palaeolithic man. At European Upper Palaeolithic sites like DolnI VEstonice and Kostenki there is little doubt that mammoth were the animals most frequently taken. How they were captured and killed is not known; it is possible that they were speared, as no pit traps have ever been found near their carcasses. At Gravettian hunters’ camp-sites in Moravia and the Ukraine large numbers of mammoth bones have been found, and even houses built from them. The woolly mammoth spread right across Eurasia into North America, and became extinct c 10,000 be.