Unidade de Arqueologia da UTAD

Multiple lines of evidence point to Late Paleolithic human harvest of mammoths—from embedded stone projectile points to cut marks and fractures on mammoth bones associated with human settlements. Not to mention, human bone isotopes reveal mammoth meat in Paleolithic diets.

Still, scientists have wondered whether massive bone accumulations discovered at various sites were from human hunting or from natural disasters, after which mammoths were scavenged. A study published last week in Current Biology implicated humans.

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) roamed in s*x-segregated herds through the vast steppe grasslands that once extended through North America and Eurasia. The prevalence of male rather than female mammoth remains has been interpreted as males more often dying because of risky behavior that caused them to fall through thin ice or drown in pools, according to earlier research.

In the new study, a collaboration of more than 50 researchers representing universities and museum collections throughout the world analyzed the genomes of 521 woolly mammoth specimens from Europe, Asia, and North America. Of the specimens, 100 had been concentrated in bone piles, whereas the rest were dispersed in natural settings.

The results were striking. The remains from natural settings were mostly male (66 percent), whereas the big pileups were mostly female (70 percent). No matter the geographic locale, all bone piles with more than five individuals showed a female bias in s*x ratio, suggesting that “human activity was the primary driver behind (them),” according to senior study author David Díez del Molino of Stockholm University.

It’s possible that Paleolithic people preferentially took down the smaller-bodied females, although a female herd headed by a matriarch likely “had group defenses that would have made encounters with herds equally or even more risky,” cautioned lead author Hannah M. Moots, a postdoc at Stockholm University. She hypothesized that the s*x bias could also reflect movement patterns of the mammoths that put females in more predictable contact with humans.

Regardless, the mammoth pileups appear to have been the work of humans. If the mammoths had died naturally in the steppe, you’d expect to see carnivore tooth marks or traces of gnawing on the bones, which were largely absent.

Hunter-gatherer societies used mammoths for much more than just food. They turned mammoth ivory into tools and art and mammoth bones into scaffolds for circular huts. And so, male or female, a mammoth was worth its weight in gold to early humans.

The study: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982226008882

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https://phys.org/news/2026-07-australian-cave-discovery-grass-magic.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Australian cave discovery shows grass was burned for magic, cures and curses for 25,000 years The GunaiKurnai, an Australian Aboriginal nation, are the acknowledged traditional custodians of Gippsland and the southern Victorian Alps. Within their territory are caves known from 19th-century ethnographic reports and oral traditions to have been settings for magic, healing and cursing rituals b...

Deep within the archaeological mounds of the Kızıltepe District in Mardin, Turkey, a small yet extraordinary discovery has opened a rare window into the everyday lives of people who lived thousands of years ago. Dating back to the Chalcolithic Period, roughly between 5500 and 3000 BC, this simple toy made of baked mud is now carefully preserved and displayed at the Mardin Museum.

At first glance, it may appear unremarkable compared to grand statues or ancient monuments. But its true significance lies in what it represents—human life at its most intimate and universal stage: childhood. This humble artifact suggests that even in prehistoric communities, where survival depended on agriculture, early settlements, and emerging tools, children still played, imagined, and learned through objects crafted by hand.

Archaeologists believe the toy reflects early craftsmanship and the development of creative expression during the Chalcolithic era, a time when humans were transitioning from stone-based tools to early metal use. The object, shaped from baked mud, shows that even without advanced materials, ancient people found ways to create meaningful items for entertainment, learning, or ritual use.

Discovered during careful surveys of the region’s ancient mounds, the toy adds an emotional layer to our understanding of prehistoric societies. It reminds us that behind every archaeological layer were families, children, and daily routines not so different from our own. While grand artifacts often tell stories of power and religion, this small object tells a quieter story—one of innocence, imagination, and the universal nature of play.

Today, as it rests in the Mardin Museum, the artifact continues to draw attention not because of its size or material value, but because of the humanity it preserves. It bridges thousands of years, connecting modern visitors with a child who once held it, played with it, and perhaps treasured it in a world long forgotten.

📸 Credit: Erkut Ozen

Source: Mardin Museum | Unknown
Credit: Erkut Ozen