At the end of the last ice age, many large mammals went extinct. Among them were the mammoths and mastodons, which finally disappeared for good only 4,000 years ago. Closely related to modern elephants, the fate of mammoths and mastodons invokes spirited debate among both earth scientists and archaeologists, some of who blame over hunting for their extinction.
In this volume, paleontologist Adrian Lister traces the species from their origins some 60 million years ago to their recent demise. Written for lay people and richly illustrated with numerous color drawings, photographs, and maps, this book provides a basic education of all aspects of these creatures’ lives. Lister also examines the various theories concerning their extinction and scrutinizes the role of climate change in the Ice Age as well as the spread of human hunters. Many well-preserved woolly mammoths have been found in the permafrost of the Arctic, and Lister explains how it may be possible to resurrect the species through cloning.
This book is an outstanding introduction for the general reader to the fascinating story of some of our most interesting large animals and their demise.
