Mammoth

:This article is about the extinct mammal. For the town with this name, see Mammoth, Arizona.

Preserved remains

Preserved frozen remains of woolly mammoths have been found in the northern parts of Siberia. However, the popular notion that these bodies were 'flash frozen' and perfectly preserved is a myth propogated by pseudoscientists such as Immanuel Velikovsky. To date, thirty-nine bodies have been found, but only four of them are complete. In most cases the flesh shows signs of decay before its freezing and later dessication.

Related Topics:
Siberia - Immanuel Velikovsky

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Stories abound about frozen mammoth corpses that were still edible once defrosted, but the original sources (e.g. William R. Farrand's article in Science 133 :729-735) indicate that the corpses were in fact terribly decayed, and the stench so unbearable that only the dogs accompanying the finders showed any interest in the flesh.

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Similarly, proposals to clone freshly defrosted mammoths in order to revive the species have proved impossible, as the material recovered thus far is so badly decomposed that it has not provided sufficient genetic material.

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In addition to frozen corpses, large amounts of mammoth ivory have been found in Siberia, and were an article of trade for many centuries.

Related Topics:
Ivory - Siberia

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