Latest news with #IceAges
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
New Utah exhibit offers unique prospective on mammoth, other aspects of the ice age
Timothy Lee and other Natural History Museum of Utah staff closely watched as the race for Utah's NHL team name unfolded — with a vested interest in one particular candidate. Their hopes for the Mammoth then strengthened as the field narrowed to the final three at the start of this year. 'Once that happened and we saw that momentum, we were all crossing our fingers and hoping that Mammoth would be chosen,' said Lee, the museum's director of exhibits. Mammoth made sense, given the species' long ties to Utah. And not only is there a massive adult Columbian mammoth replica on display at the museum, but Lee was hard at work preparing for the museum's newest exhibit, "Mysteries of the Ice Ages." It's an exhibit that features mammoths, among other things. The museum's marketing team had even started placing tiny mammoth figurines throughout the building as a clue for visitors to guess what the facility's next exhibit would be, months before the final announcement was made. So when the hockey club's announcement came down last month, museum staff were elated. 'We are hopeful that we can make connections and share stories of natural history, Utah's amazing geologic history, and showcase science and what makes Utah so amazing,' he told on Friday, standing a few feet from a display explaining the differences between mammoths and modern-day elephants. 'It's going to be a global brand, so we're really excited about the opportunity,' Lee added. 'Mysteries of the Ice Ages,' which opens to visitors on the third floor on Saturday, offers plenty of information about mammoths. It also provides many relevant ties beyond the state's new prehistoric mascot. It's a traveling exhibit with over 120 items on loan from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canada. It features fossils and replicas of the animals that roamed the earth as far back as 80,000 years ago, such as muskoxen, caribou, wolves, cave bears and mastodon, the mammoth's prehistoric cousin. There are also displays and artifacts from Neanderthals and early humans, explaining how they adapted to the cold. A handful of interactive options also demonstrate how the last ice age formed and ultimately shaped geography across the world, which is especially relevant in Utah. Earth, Lee explained, is still technically in an ice age because of the ice that exists on its two poles, and the exhibit explores the potential impacts as those recede. It ends with climate solutions and hope for the future, tying into another exhibit that the Natural History Museum of Utah opened in 2023. Having ties to exhibits on other floors of the building — like 'Past Worlds' and 'A Climate of Hope' — is ultimately why Lee booked this new exhibit two years ago, long before Utah even had an NHL team. However, hosting a traveling exhibit from another country hasn't come without some unexpected challenges. A few of the artifacts, including some taxidermy animals and ancient tools made of ivory, have yet to arrive. Those are expected to be installed in the coming weeks as the museum clears international regulations. The exhibit will remain at the museum through Jan. 4, 2026, before another traveling exhibit takes its place. That gives Utahns plenty of time to learn more about the state's newest mascot, as well as other aspects of the ice age that make Utah what it is today. That's ultimately what museum curators hope visitors will take away from the new exhibit. They believe that it could provide a new perspective on how the cold made the state into what it is now. 'The cold is so much of our culture today that we have something to protect,' Lee said. 'I hope they leave with an enjoyment of everything that Utah has to offer: an understanding that ice and cold shaped Utah.'
CBS News
21-03-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Bones of mammoths butchered for their ivory tusks 25,000 years ago unearthed by archaeologists
Bones of mammoths butchered for their ivory tusks 25,000 years ago were unearthed by archaeologists in Austria. Remains of five mammoths were found archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences said Thursday in a news statement. Researchers found mammoth bones in two areas, in Langmannersdorf an der Perschling, Lower Austria, located between St. Pölten and Tulln. Both zones, discovered about 50 feet apart, were densely packed with bones. In one area, researchers found evidence that the mammoths were butchered with stone tools. The bones were left in several layers. Remains of three mammoths were discovered in the second area, their tusks dismembered and complete. The discovery of the tusks indicated that the area was used for ivory processing, researchers said. The ivory from the tusks likely would have been turned into spearheads, researchers said. The find leads to a greater understanding of how humans and mammoths lived in the valley before the peak of the last Ice Age, according to senior researcher Marc Händel. The discoveries suggest humans living during this time period had a thorough understanding of mammoth habits and used this knowledge specifically for their hunting expeditions. "The new discoveries provide valuable insights into the hunting and lifestyles of people of this period," Händel said in the news release. Humans hunted mammoths 25,000 to 40,000 years ago, but researchers have very little knowledge of how they brought down the enormous beasts. Millions of mammoths roamed the earth before an onslaught of Ice Ages and human interactions led to their extinction about 10,000 years ago. Mammoth remains have been uncovered in the United States, with researchers unearthing more than 20 bones in North Dakota last year after miners found a 7-foot-tusk.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Gray Fossil Site finds giant flying squirrel fossil
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A giant flying squirrel fossil was found by the Gray Fossil Site and Museum, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) announced Monday. The giant flying squirrel was around the size of a house cat and weighed approximately three pounds, according to the release. The species' closest relatives are reportedly the giant flying squirrels in Japan, China and Indonesia, not the average squirrel seen in Appalachia. The findings were published in the 'Journal of Mammalian Evolution,' and come from a team of researchers, including Dr. Joshua Samuels with the East Tennessee State University Department of Geosciences and Gray Fossil Site and Cheyenne Crowe, an alumna of ETSU's paleontology master's program. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'When [the flying squirrels] arrived in what is now Tennessee, the world was much warmer than it is now,' the release stated. 'That warmer climate allowed the squirrel's ancestors to cross into North America, likely gliding through dense, humid forests like those preserved in the fossil record at Gray millions of years ago.' The Ice Ages eventually led to the giant flying squirrel's extinction, according to the release. The discovery marks one of the latest finds from the Gray Fossil Site and Museum. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
