Once upon a time, there were many giants living in our world. Actually, it wasn’t that long ago. Once the dinosaurs had had their day, our planet was home to a whole new range of gigantic animals, from human-sized sloths to woolly mammoths to enormous wombats and kangaroos to the magnificent giant goose. Between about … Read more
Prehistoric humans hunt a woolly mammoth. A growing body of research shows that this species—and at least 46 other megaherbivores—were driven to extinction by humans. (Source: Engraving by Ernest Grise, photographed by William Henry Jackson. Courtesy Getty’s Open Content Program) AARHUS, Denmark — Imagine a world where elephants roamed Europe, giant ground sloths lumbered across … Read more
Fifty thousand years ago, North America was home to megafauna such as mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers. Their extinction, possibly due to the arrival of humans or climate change, remains unsolved. Using ZooMS technology, researchers analyzed ancient bones from the Smithsonian Museum, highlighting the importance of preserving archaeological collections for future discoveries. USNM 23792, Mammuthus primigenius … Read more