The bones of a mammoth found in Siberia show that the human presence in the Arctic was earlier than expected.

A mammoth’s bones indicate an early human presence in the Arctic. The bones had marks that showed that the mammoth was butchered and stabbed. Also, damaged tip tusk suggest that the people of the time might have used it to make tools. That shows that humans were present in the Arctic approximately 45,000 years ago, which means that their presence there is extended with at least 5,000 years.

The bones of the mammoth were found far in the north of Russia. The site where they were found is near Kara Sea, in Siberia. The report of the human presence in the Arctic before expected was published in the Science journal, on Thursday by researchers from the St. Petersburg Academy of Science. The report also registered the presence of a wolf bone from the same period as the mammoth bones. These bones suggest that hunting was one of the main occupations in those times.

According to a mammoth expert from the Michigan University, Daniel Fisher, the markings that were found on the bones clearly indicate that the huge animal was hunted by humans. John Hoffecker from the Colorado University said that the hunters were not Neanderthals, but humans from our species.

Even though most of the experts believe that the mammoth was hunted by humans, there are others who disagree, like Robert Park. Robert Park is an archeologist from the Waterloo University in Canada and he said that even though it is possible, he doesn’t strongly believe that humans were involved in the hunting of the mammoth. His proof is that the bones were found with fat on them, and if they were indeed humans, they wouldn’t have left behind precious fat that could have been used for fuel or food. Also, the bones are not as butchered as experts would expect. He also said that if people did live back then, that means that not only were they organized very well, but they had social links strong enough to permit them to live and to share the rare hunting meat.

Vladimir Pitsulko, the Russian author of the report said that the injuries were without any doubt caused by humans. He believes that the population in the Arctic spread rapidly as they had a constant food source and that they were skilled toolmakers and hunters and. The mammoth’s bones indicate an early human presence in the Arctic and the earliest human presence in Eurasia.

Image Source: www.upload.wikimedia.org