Outline of the excavation site and survey
(September, 2004)

In the picture: the site of excavation and survey. Photo by Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition.

Survey Team

The survey team consisted of approximately 15 menbers. Most were members of the Scientific Council for Research on the Yukagir Mammoth, which is sponsored by the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation , and chaired by G. V. Tolstych, Minister of Science and Professional Education, Republic of Sakha .

Other members of the survey team included A. Tikhonov ( Russia ), vice chairman of the Scientific Council for Research on the Yukagir Mammoth, P. A. Lazarev (Sakha), G. G. Boyeskorov (Sakha), Yu. K. Burlakov ( Russia ), B. Buigues ( France ), D. Mol ( Holland ), and D. Fisher ( United States ). There were three Japanese team members, including Munenori Yamada, Director-General to the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition.

The main purpose of the survey was to search for additional remains near the location where the head and front legs were discovered. The scope of the survey was expanded to include more of the unexplored area around the site, and the excavation was also deepened.

The site was free of snow and ice, and the ground surface was fully exposed. The excavation and search were conducted with extreme care and caution, using shovels and trowels for the surface layer and picks and other tools for the permafrost.

A small dam was built to provide access to the submerged portion of the site, so that the riverbed could be excavated and explored.

Ultimately the surface layer was removed to allow a search for bones and other materials. A fresh cross-section was used to obverse ground strata in the area.

In addition to these activities, specimens were gathered from the location in which the head was discovered and the surrounding area for use in soil and pollen analyses.

The following skeletal fragments and other items were discovered during the latest survey.

1. Bones: 10 thoracic vertebrae, 8 ribs (7 right, 1 left), upper right carpal bone
2. Large quantities of hair
3. Partial skin (discovered in a mummified state)
4. Tissue believed to be part of the intestinal wall (further research required to identify the location), together with intestinal contents

The specimens collected at the site were transported to Yakutsk and stored at the Mammoth Museum

Despite excavations in the submerged area of the site, only bones from the front half of the body were discovered. The survey site is a cliff formed through erosion by the river. The consensus view of experts on the International Scientific Council for Research on the Yukagir Mammoth is that the rear half of the body was probably swept away and is unlikely to be discovered. It was therefore decided to conclude excavation work relating to the Yukagir Mammoth.

The full list of remains discovered, including items discovered previously, is as follows.

1. Head (with 2 tusks)
2. All of the cervical vertebrae and most of the thoracic vertebrae
3. Left front leg (with soft tissue below the knee and bone above)
4. Part of the right foreleg
5. Part of the ribs (especially those forming the right side of the chest)
6. Part of the skin (discovered in a mummified state)
7. Part of the intestinal wall (further research required to identify the location), together with intestinal contents
8. Hair

The remains discovered correspond to the front half of body. Soft tissue remained only on those parts that were buried deep in the cliff (away from the surface and the lake).

Policy on Future Research

The latest survey marks the completion of survey work at the Yukagir Mammoth site, and future research will be carried out in laboratories. The plan calls for research on the following topics.

• Non-destructive three-dimensional measurement of the external and internal morphology of the Yukagir Mammoth
• Investigation of the life history of the Yukagir Mammoth
• Recreation of the vegetation and other aspects of the paleo-environment when the mammoth was alive
• Research into the mammoth fossilization process
• DNA-based genealogical and histological research

* By now, this plan of research has been complete successfully.

READ ALSO:
Basic facts about the Yukagir Mammoth
Outline of the excavation site and survey (June, 2004)
Successful CT measurement and 3D image reconstruction of the Yukagir Mammoth in Japan
The sequence of the complete mitochondrial DNA of the Yukagir Mammoth has been determined!

*Information derived from the EXPO 2005 website.