sábado, 10 de diciembre de 2011

Mammoth Mummies Mysteries

... Natural mummies can be preserved in bog deposits, in tar pits, deep inside caves, glacier ice or permafrost – an environment too cold for an effective decomposition of organic matter.

At least 16 species of ice age mammals have been found mummified complete or partially: woolly mammoth, Shasta-, Jefferson´s- and Patagonian ground sloth, woolly rhinoceros, Yukon horse, steppe bison, helmeted muskox, Harrington´s mountain goat, caribou, giant moose, black-footed ferret, collared pika, snowshoe hare, arctic ground squirrel and vole. The ground sloths and mountain goats were found inside of caves. The woolly rhinoceros and mammoth of Starunia (Ukraine) became “pickled” in salty groundwater and coated by natural occurring mineral waxes...

Fig.2. Example of preservation by mineral waxes: The mummy of the woolly rhinoceros of Starunia (Copy in the museum of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, France).

[Read more]

No hay comentarios: