The Buesching mastodon’s story is imprinted in his ivory
He died fighting, about 13,200 years ago, aged 34
Geologists argue about what is truly the first trace of life on Earth. But to say that living things have been around since about 4bn years ago will do as a nice, round estimate. Ever since then, the winnowing of natural selection has done its work. Only the strong have survived long enough to deliver their genes to the next generation. And boy, was this guy strong. Two tonnes of rippling muscle draped over a skeleton weighing the same, all powered by another four tonnes of visceral organs. And tusks. Two enormous tusks, each three metres long and weighing 40kg.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “A story carved in ivory”
Science & technology June 25th 2022
From the June 25th 2022 edition
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