 Mammoth
Bones give Clue to Deaths
Experts in Archaeological Sciences
are helping to find out if a hoard of recently-discovered mammoth and
woolly rhino bones were the result of ice age man hunting or scavenging
the long extinct mammals.
Left
to right: Diane Charlton, Sonia O'Connor and Leesa Vere-Stevens hope to
reveal secrets of the mammoth bones.
The Department has been sent
1000s of bones found at Lynford Gravel Pit, an internationally important
Neanderthal site in East Anglia.
Through detailed investigation,
conservator Sonia O'Connor, assisted by Diane Charlton and Leesa Vere-Stevens,
is revealing grooves on the bones which may be the result of butchery
activity or caused naturally. The job ahead is no easy task - the mammoth
teeth alone measure around 25cm, and weigh several kilograms each.
Sonia said: "We have never
handled material of this age before and we have to be very careful. It
is a very exciting find and only when the study
is complete will we have a clearer picture of how these early hominids
lived."
The team are hoping to find
evidence of hunting activities. However, their work may be hampered by
the mammoths' social behaviour - it is thought that they may have congregated
in mammoth 'cemeteries', resulting in trampling. As part of the study,
some of the bone and teeth will be sampled by Dr Mike Richards, who will
conduct tests for nutrition and climate.
18 March
2003
 next
top
of page
|
