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TL;DR The current best hypothesis: >They figured it was more probable that young male mammoths were much more likely to travel solo, away from the wisdom and p
by daenz 6y ago
TL;DR The current best hypothesis:
>They figured it was more probable that young male mammoths were much more likely to travel solo, away from the wisdom and protection of matriarchal herds, similar to the way elephant societies function today. In other words, these male mammoths—young, reckless, foolhardy—were just more likely to get into some kind of trouble and die, from getting stuck in a pit to running afoul of hunting humans. Luckily for paleontologists, some of these death sites—bogs, crevices, lakes—are pretty good at preserving remains. “They were more likely to do silly things, like die in tar pits,” Gower says.
- bilbo0s 6y agoI don't know man? Running afoul of hunting humans should leave fewer remains than, for instance, an elephant graveyard. Now it's possible mammoths didn't do the graveyard thing, but the point is the humans would have left far less of the animal than an elephant grave or a bog.
- coliveira 6y agoElephants and other animals don't leave graves. They just die and decompose on the surface. That's why you won't easily find a graveyard for animals, unless they happen to be buried by some accident.
- gen220 6y agoA little bit off topic, but as I understand it, Elephants are known to carry the bones of deceased elephants with them, and otherwise move them around. They might not have graveyards, but they do appear to have some concept of mortality. From this great article [1] on elephants: > Even bare, bleached old elephant bones will stop a group if they have not seen them before. It is so predictable that filmmakers have been able to get shots of elephants inspecting skeletons by bringing the bones from one place and putting them in a new spot near an elephant pathway or a water hole. Inevitably the living elephants will feel and move the bones around, sometimes picking them up and carrying them away for quite some distance before dropping them. It is a haunting and touching sight and I have no idea why they do it. [1]: https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/do-elephants-have-souls https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/do-elephants-hav...
- meowface 6y ago>It is so predictable that filmmakers have been able to get shots of elephants inspecting skeletons by bringing the bones from one place and putting them in a new spot near an elephant pathway or a water hole. Inevitably the living elephants will feel and move the bones around, sometimes picking them up and carrying them away for quite some distance before dropping them. It is a haunting and touching sight and I have no idea why they do it. If they're truly reacting with similar emotions as when a human stumbles across a human corpse or skeleton, this seems kind of cruel to deliberately do just to get a compelling film shot.
- openasocket 6y agoThe elephant graveyard thing is actually a myth; elephants do not seek out some specific location when they sense death is near. In fact, one of the theories I’ve heard for how this myth got started was European explorers coming across sites where the local elephant hunters stockpiled their bones and ivory, and assumed this was a natural phenomenon.
- bigbubba 6y agoThere are instances of humans assembling mammoth bones into some sort of structure: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/60-mammoths-house-russia-180974426/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/60-mammoths-ho... > 25,000-Year-Old Structure Built of the Bones of 60 Mammoths According to the article, similar albeit smaller structures have also been found across Eastern Europe.
- ravi-delia 6y agoIt does seem like contact with humans wouldn't leave much in the way of remains (plus wouldn't humans go after less reckless prey?), but definitely tar pits and the like would be more likely to snare a risk-tolerant and solitary animal than a risk-averse one in a group.
- estaseuropano 6y agoIf you read further in the article, they mention this explanation is not enough as that doesn't apply to all mammal species.