News Archaeology

Ancient Siberians may have rarely hunted mammoths

Study suggests Stone Age folk sporadically killed the beasts, primarily for ivory

BEACH BONEYARD Excavated mammoth bones from Siberia’s Yana archaeological site suggest that people hunted mammoths mainly for ivory, which they used to make tools.

Stanislav Remezov

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Contrary to their hunting reputation, Stone Age Siberians killed mammoths only every few years when they needed tusks for toolmaking, a new study finds.