Ancient DNA from over 500 woolly mammoths suggests that Ice Age humans might have hunted females more often, revealing a new picture of prehistoric hunter-gatherers and one of the largest animals to roam the Late Pleistocene.
The findings posted in the journal Current Biology are based on genomic analysis of 521 woolly mammoths from Eurasia and North America. The DNA of 448 animals was sequenced for the first time, including those from the archaeological site of Kraków Spadzista in southern Poland.
The international team of scientists working at the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals at the Polish Academy of Sciences examined mammoth remains dating from 30,000 to 20,000 years ago. Finding out the sex of each animal revealed a striking difference in mammoths found in natural sites and those associated with human activity.
At natural bone deposits, males accounted for about two-thirds of the remains, and females were the remainder. The researchers say this supports the long-held belief that solitary male mammoths were more likely to die in natural hazards such as sinkholes or landslides, making their bones more likely to be preserved.
The pattern was reversed at archaeological sites. There, around 70% of the mammoth remains belonged to females, compared with 30% to males.
The researchers say the findings point to a consistent pattern in how Upper Palaeolithic people obtained mammoths, although the reasons remain uncertain.
“We know that Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers sometimes hunted mammoths directly, as evidenced by projectile points embedded in their bones. They may also have obtained meat and other raw materials from dead animals,” said Dr Jarosław Wilczyński, an archaeologist at the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a co-author of the study.
One possible explanation is that female mammoths, being generally smaller than adult males, were easier prey. However, the researchers caution that the picture is unlikely to have been so straightforward.
If woolly mammoths behaved in a similar way to modern elephants, females would have lived in closely related matriarchal herds capable of defending one another, making them potentially just as dangerous to hunt as solitary bulls.
Lead author Dr Hannah M. Moots, of the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, suggested that herd behaviour may instead have influenced hunting opportunities.
“Female-led herds may have moved in a more predictable way than solitary males. Hunter-gatherers may simply have encountered them more often, whether they were hunting or collecting the remains of dead animals,” she said.
To reach this conclusion, they compared genetic data from 100 mammoths recovered from archaeological sites to 421 animals from natural bone accumulations across Eurasia and North America.
The study is consistent with growing evidence that mammoths were at the center of Ice Age life. The bones were used to build shelters and tusks were used to make tools, ornaments and works of art, as well as providing meat, fat and hides.
And the research by Professor Love Dalén of Stockholm University demonstrates how ancient DNA is reshaping archaeological research.
“This study demonstrates the enormous potential of ancient DNA analysis in solving long-standing archaeological mysteries. By analysing an increasing number of samples, ancient DNA allows not only the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of species, but also the study of animal behaviour and human culture from tens of thousands of years ago,” he said.
According to the researchers, the study provides one of the clearest genetic snapshots yet of the relationship between Ice Age humans and woolly mammoths, showing how advances in DNA sequencing can shed new light on prehistoric hunting practices.
Sources : PAP
