Woolly Mammoth Hair - Authentic 19,551-Year-Old Pleistocene Specimen

Woolly Mammoth Hair Preserved for 19,551 Years

This Woolly Mammoth hair specimen is radiocarbon-dated to 19,551 years old. It comes from a well-preserved mammoth found near the Indigirka River in Siberia, Russia. Each tuft varies in color and texture.

Product Details

• SKU: 80-112-0131-201-40
• Age: Radiocarbon-dated to 19,551 years old
• Origin: Siberian permafrost mammoth from the Indigirka River region, Russia
• Specimen: Untreated Woolly Mammoth hair specimen for display and study only
• Display: Acrylic jar in glass-topped riker case, 4 in x 3 in x 1 in
• Includes: Certificate of authenticity and informational card
• Edition: Originally part of the First Edition collection, now offered as a stand-alone specimen

A Coat Built for the Cold

Woolly mammoths wore thick coats that helped them endure Ice Age winters. Scientists now think the hair was a deeper chocolate brown than many reconstructions show. Adults stood about 3 to 3.5 m (10 to 11 ft) at the shoulder.

They lived in richly vegetated landscapes, not the bleak snowfields of popular art. This Ice Age mammoth tuft is a small sample of that coat.

Frozen in Siberia

Preserved soft tissue from the woolly mammoth has turned up only in Siberia and Alaska. The deep freeze of the permafrost kept this Woolly Mammoth hair intact for nearly 20,000 years. A Siberian permafrost mammoth like this one lets scientists study diet, genetics, and behavior.

The Smithsonian holds muscle from another Siberian mammoth, excavated in 1901. This specimen has not been treated in any way. Find more Ice Age mammoth pieces in our Prehistoric Collection and our Natural History Collection.

Display and Care

Keep the case away from heat, damp, and direct sun. The hair stays in its sealed acrylic jar. Because the specimen is untreated, we recommend it for display and study only.

About the Woolly Mammoth

Woolly mammoths evolved in northeast Siberia roughly 800,000 to 600,000 years ago. They later spread across Eurasia and into North America. Island herds on Wrangel Island survived until about 4,000 years ago. Woolly Mammoth hair survives only because the cold preserved it.

For More Reading from the Web

• Learn what mammoth hair looked like. Were All Mammoths Woolly? - Natural History Museum, London
• Meet a Siberian mammoth whose preserved muscle tissue is held in a national collection. Berezovka Woolly Mammoth: Flesh in a Jar - Smithsonian