Study Shows Prehistoric People Targeted Female Mammoths
New research analyzing genetic data from 521 mammoths reveals that prehistoric hunters specifically targeted female mammoths. Scientists believe this preference may be due to the predictable, matriarchal movement patterns of female herds compared to solitary males.
Why it matters
This study provides significant insights into the hunting strategies and ecological impact of early human populations on megafauna during the Ice Age.
Woolly mammoths were a favorite hunting target for Ice Age people in Eurasia and North America for many reasons. A single animal would provide a large amount of meat and fat. Its hide could be used for clothing. Its bones and tusks could be shaped into tools, weapons and art. And the largest bones could be used as building material for shelters or other structures.
New research shows that these prehistoric people were highly selective in the mammoths they hunted. Using genetic data from bones accumulated by people at 11 sites in Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Russia, scientists have discovered that they mainly killed female mammoths.
Some 70% of the mammoths whose bones were studied from these accumulation sites were females, with 30% males. In comparison, 66% of mammoth bones recovered from natural settings were from males, and 34% females.
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