15,000-Year-Old Mammoth Bone Unearthed in Kazakhstan

A villager in northern Kazakhstan has uncovered a 15,000-year-old mammoth bone, marking a rare and scientifically significant discovery in the region, according to Kazinform, a partner of TV BRICS.

The fossil, a tibia measuring over one meter in length, was found near the village of Baiterek in the North Kazakhstan region while the man was fishing. According to local media, the bone had been partially exposed above the ground before it was retrieved.

Anatoly Pleshakov, professor at M. Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University, confirmed that the bone belonged to a large mammoth, adding that the area may conceal further remains or artefacts from the Paleolithic era. Although mammoth fossils are occasionally unearthed along the banks of the Esil River, Pleshakov noted that specimens of this magnitude are exceptionally rare.

The discovery will be transferred to the regional history museum for preservation and further study. The find echoes earlier landmark discoveries in the region, including the 1960 unearthing of the mammoth known as the Yasnovsky elephant.

Northern Kazakhstan has also yielded fossils of ancient rhinoceroses and bison from the Upper Paleolithic era, reflecting the cold and humid climate that once supported an abundance of large mammals.

This breakthrough contributes to a wider surge of archaeological discoveries worldwide. In Russia’s Murmansk region, archaeologists have revealed four Late Neolithic settlements linked to the Gressbakken culture, while in Iran, researchers have located a quarry believed to have supplied stone for the palace of Darius I at Susa. Meanwhile, scientists in Ethiopia’s Afar region recently identified a new Australopithecus species alongside the earliest known remains of the Homo genus, offering fresh insight into human evolution.