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Mammoth bones saved Ice Age humans from winter's chill
jpeg (17k)
This house was built of hundreds of mammoth bones by
hunters on windswept, treeless plains in the Ukraine,
about 15,000 years ago. Working as a team, hut builders
needed only a few days to haul together hundreds of massive
mammoth bones, then stack them into a snug home.
With a shortage of wood, bones even were used to make music.
Listen to rhythms like the ones hut builders might have played
on mammoth skull drums.
Mammoth bone music (77k au audio)
Bone-hut villagers pioneered group living
At 15,000 to 18,000 years old, small villages of bone huts like
this one are some of the oldest towns we've ever found. They
give us a glimpse of humans' early efforts to get along in
communities. Community life demands a different strategy than
living in small family groups: people need to cooperate, and
divide up duties and wealth.
Painting by Charles Knight. Field Museum photo Geo-CK-46.1T, by John
Weinstein.
