4,000-year-old mammoth remains found in Kyrgyzstan

Workers at a quarry in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region have uncovered the remains of a mammoth dating back approximately 4,000 years.

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth Policy confirmed this significant finding.

The quarry owner notified the authorities after finding the bones in the ancient floodplain of the Jyrgalan River in the Ak-Suu district. A team of archaeologists arrived promptly to investigate the site and discovered a pleasant surprise.

“During the examination, parts of the tooth and jawbone were found in two different places, 460-490 feet apart, in the sand and gravel deposits of the quarry,” the ministry stated.

These remains lay buried at depths ranging from 10 to 16 feet.

The archaeologists faced challenges because of the fragile nature of the bones. “Already exposed bones do not remain in their original form for long and quickly crumble under the influence of sunlight,” the archeologists shared.

To protect the find, the team hammered the pit from top to bottom and carefully cleaned the area, revealing the lower part of a mammoth skull.

Due to poor preservation, the team extracted only a portion of the skull. They cleaned and preserved the remaining fragments on-site before packing them for transportation. The bones will be sent to a museum for further preservation and study.

This marks the first known discovery of mammoth remains in Kyrgyzstan. The ministry highlighted the presence of remains in two distinct locations within the same quarry, suggesting the potential for more discoveries. The Jyrgalan River valley is known for its Pleistocene fauna finds, making this area particularly promising.

The Ministry of Culture urged citizens to report historical or cultural finds to government agencies and archaeologists to protect Kyrgyzstan’s heritage.