Are there other mammoth graveyards besides the recent discovery in Serbia?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Andre
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The recent discovery of a mammoth graveyard in Serbia has sparked discussions about the existence of other similar sites. Notably, the Sevsk site in Russia, dating back approximately 14,000 years, contains a catastrophic death assemblage of at least 33 mammoths found in oxbow lake deposits. The term "graveyard" is debated, as it implies intentional behavior similar to that of elephants, which may not apply to mammoths. Other locations, such as Mammoth Hot Springs in South Dakota and Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, also contain mammoth remains, but their classification as graveyards is contentious.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of paleontological terminology
  • Knowledge of mammoth behavior and ecology
  • Familiarity with archaeological site classification
  • Awareness of the geographical context of mammoth discoveries
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the Sevsk mammoth site and its significance in paleontology
  • Explore the ecological behavior of mammoths compared to elephants
  • Investigate the archaeological methods used in mammoth site excavations
  • Examine the implications of mammoth remains found in locations like Mammoth Hot Springs and Rancho La Brea
USEFUL FOR

Paleontologists, archaeologists, and enthusiasts interested in mammoth behavior and the classification of fossil sites will benefit from this discussion.

Andre
Messages
4,296
Reaction score
73
Last week certainly a spectacular discovery was done in Serbia, a mammoth grave yard.

However worlds first mammoth grave yard? Maybe that's not the case...

Source

Sevsk, which is a natural open-air site, located as is Yudinovo on the Russian Plain, dates from about 14,000BP. Here, a catastrophic death assemblage of one mammoth group,composed of at least 33 mammoths that died simultaneously during spring or early summer, was discovered in oxbow lake deposits in an area of about 800m
 
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
I question the use of the term "grave yard" if they just happened to all be in the same place and died at the same time. While the application of the the English language phrase is literally correct, I think "grave yard" is a term used more specifically, for example, to describe areas where elephants (specifically) go when they know they are dying and thus there are large numbers of remains all in the same place.

I vaguely recall reading of other areas where smaller numbers of mammoth remains (possibly much smaller) have been found, but I have no idea whether mammoths exhibited the same behavior as elephants in terms of creating their own "grave yards" but in any case this is clearly not such a case.
 
phinds said:
II vaguely recall reading of other areas where smaller numbers of mammoth remains (possibly much smaller) have been found, but I have no idea whether mammoths exhibited the same behavior as elephants in terms of creating their own "grave yards" but in any case this is clearly not such a case.

The elephant grave yards are an 'rural' legend. It's not so.

Other mammoth graveyards,

"Mammoth hot springs" SD

Rancho La Brea LA

There are more