The life and growth of a mammoth

A few years ago, while working on the second restoration of the Brassus mammoth housed at the Naturéum, Manuel Riond recognized that these bones offered the opportunity to better understand the growth and lives of these prehistoric giants.

Since then, an opportunity has arisen to collaborate with Prof. Allison Dalley and her students (Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment at the University of Lausanne). The stable isotopes in the tusks and molars of the Brassus mammoth should provide insights into this individual’s growth and reveal the existence of seasonal migrations across a more or less extensive territory.

All of these findings should help add a chronological dimension to an ongoing study on the geometry of mammoth teeth—molars and tusks.

Project Leader : Manuel Riond