The Great Mammoth Hunters

I always found the Megafauna of the late Pleistocene more interacting than the Dinosaurs. Mainly because our ancestors actually interacted with them.

I was blessed to be a part of the excavation of a 30k year old female Colombian mammoth in Ellis County TX. As a volunteer a few years back. It was already 75% exposed by the time I got there. I may have removed half a 5 gallon bucket of dirt. But it was like a dream sitting down in the hole with that creature. One of my greatest memories. They named the mammoth "Ellie May". She now resides in the Perot museum in Dallas, TX. Btw Thanks for these awesome videos. They really are important. As most of us do not get an in depth education on prehistory. Much appreciated 🙏

12,000 lbs of fur would hold many, many fleas. Poor itchy mammoths.

I would say that the “heart shape” on the side of the mammoth painting is actually a depiction of the heart and the lungs. The left most “bump” would be the heart, and the more massive right side would be the lungs, fitting the anatomy well. The lungs are the best vital to hit when hunting, wasting little meat, and leaving the heart (a very lean, nutrient rich, and delicious cut) to be consumed along with the other usable organs (kidneys, liver, testicles, tongue). While brains are totally edible, they are more valuable for the proteins they contain, which are used to tan animal hides.

Anyone remember back in the day when Discovery, NatGeo, History, and Animal Planet actually had documentaries about early humans and animals?? I miss that type of programming and I think that’s why North’s videos are so appealing to me. Might have to give Curiosity a look.

I lived with a Yup'ik village for a couple years, and they still use an atlatl attack on Beluga and seal. The points they use are very sharp and very small. the points are not fixed to the shafts. Traditionally, they used the ivory from the beluga teeth, but these days they are happier to refine industrial steel and especially, brass into points. The idea of an ivory haft to change points and shafts, is brilliant. A hunter will throw, and often miss, but the shaft just falls off. It's even better if the point lands true, because the genius of a removable shaft is obvious. The shaft just doinks on the ground, as the animal runs in mortal panic. Making a good shaft can take a good few hours of work. Spread over 2-3 days. If a person can save that time, they can devote it to crafting points instead.

“This is my Step Mammoth, I never knew my real Mammoth. ..”

It's not very surprising that the evidence of humans hunting mammoths outside of the northern regions of Eurasia is scarce. In the southern regions people hat access to a larger variety of food sources and raw materials such as wood that were much easier to obtain than a mammoth. There was no need to make the effort and take the risk of hunting down mammoths.

This video shows an ungraded of professionalism in the content of this channel . In fact one of the best documentaries on this subject I have seen .

As an avid bow hunter a shoulder shot happens sometimes when aiming for the heart. 9 times out of 10 the shoulder shot is just as deadly as you also clip the lungs. As North stated earlier in the video the broadhead stays in the chest cavity and cuts as the animal tries to escape. But an animal shout in the shoulder has its mobility compromised. Maybe the early hunters aimed for the shoulders to slow down the mammoths. Maybe this allowed the whole crew of hunters to catch up and finish off the job….

Most of the Mammoth kills that have been found are males. They often traveled alone so the hunters didn't have a herd of defensive dangerous animals to deal with.

Most points weren’t hafted to a solid shaft. The points were put on small inserts that fit in sockets on the main shaft. A long, stout shaft makes a good lance but wouldn’t penetrate sufficiently for a throwable weapon.

Bro, the sad music had me getting all empathetic for the mammoths. I love animals, but people are crazy if they think we were always supposed to be vegetarians. Its EASY to be a vegetarian when you have a grocery store within 5 miles you can drive a car to, and its stocked with fresh produce grown from thousands of miles away, often from different continents. Almost none of us truly know what real hunger feels like. While we talk about how uncivilized and barbaric these people could be.....are we really that different? Take away our grocery stores and clean/treated water out of the tap, and in a matter of weeks, I’m 100% we’d see people killing one another over food, farming land, and water.

'The point in the scapula is an example of preservation bias' so that means that thousands of years ago some teenager was going hunting with their community members, people they looked up to and were trying to emulate. They took a shot, with a very carefully worked stone point, that they launched into the scapula, losing the point and failing to injure the mammoth in any appreciable way. A mortifying thing for a teenager looking to prove themselves to their elders. Now, thousands of years later, the entire world is able to see that embarrassing mistake! That kid probably went on to make many more kills with a lot more skill, but this may be the only work of theirs that we see now. Side note, what mortifying mistake have I left behind for people to find in thousands of years? 😂

The Neandertal painting at 1:54 is incorrectly attributed to Charles Knight. It is actually from Giovanni Caselli, who did similar pieces on Homo sapiens in Ice Age Europe and Australia. Edit: the Image before that is from Jay Matternes, and can be seen as a mural and as a smaller Nat Geo poster. It is very beautiful to see in-person.

I truly enjoy how your channel has evolved. So fitting for your topic. Thank you for doing this work ;)

Absolutely awesome video man. I live in W KY and love to hunt for artifacts.... I know of several "paleo" sites in my area and the projectile point and blades that come from them have always fascinated me. You're channel is great. Thanks for these videos.

There are very few YT channels that I'll automatically like before watching , this is the main one. I always learn something new.

Excellent documentary North. I have enjoyed your work and how it as improved to the point that you are now a full time professional. I have watch you from your beginning and as long as you keep doing work like this I will be with you for a long time to come. Happy 2022