Lions and humans likely collaborated in mammoth slaughter (+video)
A recently unearthed, strawberry-blond mammoth specimen from Siberia gives researchers new information about how humans and lions hunted.
After being frozen under Siberian ice for at least 10,000 years, well-preserved, recently discovered mammoth remains are providing clues about the past.
The details of how the massive mammal lived and died are still being interpreted by scientists. But it looks like hungry humans played a role in its demise.
"This is the first relatively complete mammoth carcass -- that is, a body with soft tissues preserved -- to show evidence of human association," Daniel Fisher, curator and director of the University of Michigan's Museum of Paleontology, told Discovery News.
From scratches in the mammoth's hide and bite marks in the tail it looks like the mammoth, known as Yuka, was chased by lions. Not long before death, Yuka also appears to have fallen, breaking a hind leg.
Humans apparently butchered the strawberry-blond beast, taking what they wanted. Clues to the role humans played in slaughtering Yuka include the absence of the skull, spine, ribs and pelvis. In addition, the shapes and patterns of the cuts indicate the use of human tools.
