Mammoth fauna, Yakutia, Russia
Mammoth skull with tusks
Mammuthus primigenius
Tusks of caramel patina with a span of 2.4 metres, raised from the permafrost of Yakutia.
4 500 000 ₽ · By order
- Epoch
- Pleistocene
- Age
- ≈ 30,000 years
- Origin
- Yakutia, Russia
- Size
- 2.4 m
- Classification
- Mammuthus primigenius, the woolly mammoth
- Habitat
- The mammoth steppe of Yakutia
- Ref.
- R–0605
Thirty thousand years ago, where the Yakutian tundra now lies, there stretched the mammoth steppe — dry, cold and rich in grass. Its principal beast was the woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius.
The tusks served him as more than weapons: with them he cleared snow from the frozen grass and stripped bark from the scarce trees. The permafrost of Yakutia is all but the only place on the planet where bone and tusk survive almost untouched.
The specimen is a skull with a complete pair of tusks of caramel patina, the tusks spanning 2.4 metres. It is mounted on a granite block with bronze supports; the provenance is legal, with a complete set of expert reports.
A skull with both tusks in place occurs markedly less often than single tusks. The documented history of the find and its monumental presentation make the piece ready for permanent display.
As found
The head of a mammoth with tusks curving in the same arc as the exhibit. Snowy steppe under a soft light.