Jul 30, 2026 06:21 PM
(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2026 06:21 PM by C C.)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137453
INTRO: Analysing ancient DNA of over 500 mammoth bones, an international team of researchers found that Ice Age humans selectively targeted female woolly mammoths. The results of the study, published in Current Biology, show that in contrast to the sex ratio among naturally occurring woolly mammoth remains, large bone accumulations associated with ancient human activity are dominated by females.
“Whether these massive mammoth bone accumulations were formed naturally or by human hunting has been debated for decades”, says David Díez del Molino, Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and co-senior author of the study. “By comparing the genetic sex ratios of hundreds of mammoths from natural settings with those found in these archaeological contexts, we can now infer that human activity was the primary driver behind these bone accumulations.”
The team analysed genome data from 521 woolly mammoths across Eurasia and North America, including 448 individuals sequenced for the first time. Genetic sex inference revealed a striking contrast depending on where the remains were found. Mammoth remains recovered from dispersed, natural settings were mostly male (34 per cent female: 66 per cent male), consistent with the idea that solitary males were more likely to die in natural traps (for example sinkholes or landslides), thereby increasing the chance of long-term bone preservation. In contrast, mammoths from accumulation sites were predominantly female (70 per cent female: 30 per cent male). These results raised questions about how Ice Age hunter-gatherers interacted with mammoths.
“We know that Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers sometimes hunted mammoths directly, as evidenced by projectile points embedded in mammoth bones, and they may also have scavenged material from carcasses”, says Jarosław Wilczyński, archaeologist at the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
“While it is tempting to assume that hunters would have targeted females because they were smaller than adult males, the reality may have been more complex. If mammoths behaved like modern elephants, females living in matriarchal herds may have had group defences that would have made encounters with herds equally or even more risky. Another possibility is that female-led herds moved across the landscape in more predictable ways than solitary males, meaning Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers may simply have encountered them more frequently, whether for hunting or scavenging”, says Hannah M. Moots, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and lead author of the study... (MORE - no ads)
INTRO: Analysing ancient DNA of over 500 mammoth bones, an international team of researchers found that Ice Age humans selectively targeted female woolly mammoths. The results of the study, published in Current Biology, show that in contrast to the sex ratio among naturally occurring woolly mammoth remains, large bone accumulations associated with ancient human activity are dominated by females.
“Whether these massive mammoth bone accumulations were formed naturally or by human hunting has been debated for decades”, says David Díez del Molino, Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and co-senior author of the study. “By comparing the genetic sex ratios of hundreds of mammoths from natural settings with those found in these archaeological contexts, we can now infer that human activity was the primary driver behind these bone accumulations.”
The team analysed genome data from 521 woolly mammoths across Eurasia and North America, including 448 individuals sequenced for the first time. Genetic sex inference revealed a striking contrast depending on where the remains were found. Mammoth remains recovered from dispersed, natural settings were mostly male (34 per cent female: 66 per cent male), consistent with the idea that solitary males were more likely to die in natural traps (for example sinkholes or landslides), thereby increasing the chance of long-term bone preservation. In contrast, mammoths from accumulation sites were predominantly female (70 per cent female: 30 per cent male). These results raised questions about how Ice Age hunter-gatherers interacted with mammoths.
“We know that Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers sometimes hunted mammoths directly, as evidenced by projectile points embedded in mammoth bones, and they may also have scavenged material from carcasses”, says Jarosław Wilczyński, archaeologist at the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
“While it is tempting to assume that hunters would have targeted females because they were smaller than adult males, the reality may have been more complex. If mammoths behaved like modern elephants, females living in matriarchal herds may have had group defences that would have made encounters with herds equally or even more risky. Another possibility is that female-led herds moved across the landscape in more predictable ways than solitary males, meaning Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers may simply have encountered them more frequently, whether for hunting or scavenging”, says Hannah M. Moots, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and lead author of the study... (MORE - no ads)