A study published in Current Biology made a couple of fascinating discoveries about the woolly mammoth, the furry, snow-dwelling elephant ancestor that early humans boldly assumed they could kill and eat, and then did.
Researchers analyzed DNA from more than 500 mammoth bones found across Europe, Asia, and North America and uncovered a pattern: most of them were female mammoths.
Naturally preserved mammoth remains were about two-thirds male, likely because solitary bulls were hardheaded idiots who were more prone to wandering into sinkholes or other deadly situations. But mammoth bone accumulations linked to humans were roughly 70 percent female.
Female Mammoths May Have Been the Main Target for Ice Age Hunters
That doesn’t necessarily mean hunters targeted females because they were smaller. Researchers think female-led herds probably traveled along predictable seasonal routes, making them easier to find than lone males who spent their time roaming around, seemingly looking for ways to get themselves killed.
The findings also suggest that mammoth hunting was a lot more organized, more thought out, than previously suspected. The researchers think the hunters tracked migrations, coordinated complex ambush plans, and maybe even steered herds into traps.
Then there’s the study’s bonus discovery: one mammoth from Russia’s Wrangel Island had an odd X0/XX chromosome pattern, the equivalent of Turner syndrome in humans, a condition that only affects females and is when one of the X chromosomes is missing or partially missing. It’s the first time this genetic condition has ever been identified in an extinct species.
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