19. mammoths

Return to History 8 Human Origins Vocabulary

Mammoths were ancient elephant-like creatures who first appeared about 2 MYA and are commonly thought to have gone extinct about 12,000 years ago, but may have lived as recent as 7,600 years ago. Only Northern species of mammoths had a covering of long hair. Mammoths' sizes ranged from about 9 ft tall to over 15 ft tall. Some mammoths' tusks were straight and some were curved, and the longest were over 17 feet long. Mammoths were larger relatives of modern-day elephants. They had similar diets and eating habits, as they were both herbivores. The closest living relative to the mammoth is the Indian elephant. Mammoths descended from a species that lived in Africa 3 to 4 MYA. Mammoths covered most of Eurasia, and then crossed over to North America 1.8 MYA. Scientists suspect that mammoths went extinct through a combination of climate change, disease, and human impacts. Several mummified Woolly Mammoths have been found in Siberian ice, which scientists hope to be able to clone.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/18/mammoth-cloning-wrong-save-endangered-elephants

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Sources

Manual Ch 3 pg 35

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Europeweb/factfile/Unique-facts-Europe28.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/mammoth/

http://www.livescience.com/9771-mammoths-alive-thought.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mammoth/about_mammoths.html

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For more information, please visit: http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/mammuthus.html

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Calista Smith