The woolly mammoth was one of the most iconic animals of the Ice Age. Standing up to 11 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing as much as 6 tons, these massive herbivores were perfectly adapted to life in the frozen tundra. Their most distinctive features included long, curved tusks that could reach over 15 feet in length, a thick coat of shaggy fur, and a layer of insulating fat up to 4 inches thick.
Woolly mammoths roamed across the northern continents—Europe, Asia, and North America—feeding on grasses, sedges, and other tundra vegetation. Their tusks served multiple purposes: digging through snow to reach food, stripping bark from trees, and competing for mates. Despite their fearsome size, mammoths were closely related to modern Asian elephants.
Mammoth tusks were modified incisor teeth that grew continuously throughout the animal's life. Made of dentin and covered in enamel, these massive structures grew in a characteristic spiral curve. The growth rings within tusks provide scientists with remarkable information about the mammoth's life—recording seasons, nutrition, stress, and even the animal's age at death.
The Pleistocene Epoch lasted from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago and is characterized by repeated glacial cycles—ice ages interrupted by warmer interglacial periods. During glacial maximums, massive ice sheets covered much of North America, Europe, and Asia, while sea levels dropped by over 400 feet, exposing land bridges like Beringia between Alaska and Siberia.
This epoch saw the evolution and spread of modern humans, who coexisted with woolly mammoths for thousands of years. Mammoths began declining around 10,000 years ago as the climate warmed and their tundra habitat shrank. The last mainland populations disappeared about 10,000 years ago, though a small population survived on Wrangel Island until roughly 4,000 years ago.
Alaska is one of the world's richest sources of mammoth fossils. During the Pleistocene, Alaska was part of Beringia—a vast, ice-free region that connected Asia and North America. The frozen ground, or permafrost, has preserved mammoth remains in remarkable condition, including bones, tusks, hair, and even occasional soft tissue.
This specimen was acquired in March 2024 from Stones & Bones Collection, a fossil dealer serving museums, educational institutions, and private collectors since 1989.