Mammoths Were Still Alive When the Pyramids Were Built!
While the Great Pyramids of Giza were being built around 2500 BCE, a surprising fact remains largely unknown: mammoths were still roaming the Earth in certain isolated regions. Most woolly mammoths had disappeared from mainland Eurasia and North America by 10,000 BCE, primarily due to climate change and overhunting by humans. However, a small population survived for thousands of years beyond their presumed extinction date.
These last remaining mammoths lived on Wrangel Island, a remote landmass in the Arctic Ocean, located north of Siberia. This isolated population of Wrangel Island mammoths persisted until around 1650 BCE, which means they coexisted with some of the world’s most famous civilizations, including the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, and Minoans. At the time when Pharaoh Khufu was overseeing the construction of the Great Pyramid, a few hundred mammoths were still walking across Wrangel Island’s frozen tundra.
The Wrangel Island mammoths were smaller than their Ice Age ancestors, likely due to genetic mutations and limited food resources on the island. Scientists believe that this isolated population suffered from inbreeding, which led to a genetic decline, eventually causing their extinction. Recent studies have shown that they had mutations affecting their sense of smell, reproduction, and even their fur, which may have become translucent rather than the thick, woolly coat typical of Ice Age mammoths.
Their final extinction around 1650 BCE is remarkably recent in geological terms, meaning that while the Egyptians were carving hieroglyphs and constructing massive stone monuments, mammoths were still alive in the Arctic. This challenges the common misconception that mammoths disappeared at the same time as other Ice Age megafauna.
The survival of these mammoths so long after their species' peak raises fascinating questions about how small, isolated populations can persist in extreme environments. Their story serves as a reminder that the prehistoric world overlapped in unexpected ways with early human civilizations, demonstrating that some creatures of the Ice Age managed to endure much longer than previously believed.
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