ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Glaston Early Upper Palaeolithic Project: The Animals

Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

A small collection of bones recovered during the excavation represented the largest animal found on the site, the woolly mammoth. This herbivorous mammal would have been similar in size to the modern Indian elephant, to which it is closely related. Much is known of the mammoth’s appearance and lifestyle as complete specimens have been found preserved in the ice in Siberia. They had a coat of long, shaggy black hair with long curved tusks, a fatty hump, a short trunk and small ears. The tusks may have been used for protection and for digging in the snow to reveal the underlying grass.

We know from cave paintings in France and Spain that early humans hunted mammoths, a possible factor in their extinction. Although most became extinct around 10,000 years ago a few survived in the Eastern Siberian Arctic until as recently as 4,000 years ago.