Pathological changes on woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) bones: Holes, hollows and other minor changes in the spinous processes of vertebrae

A preliminary review of bone and teeth abnormalities seen in recent Loxodonta and extinct Mammuthus and Mammut, and suggested implications

“…Limb-bone fracturing in Mammuthus specimens has been described and illustrated by Krzemi nska (2008). Pathological vertebrae in Mammuthus have been described and illustrated by Krzemi nska and colleagues and others (Krzemi nska, 2008;Krzemi nska and Wojtal, 2014;Krzemi nska et al, 2015), Leshchinskiy (2012Leshchinskiy ( , 2014, and Shidlovsky and Kirillova (2014). Dental abnormalities in Mammuthus have been noted by Kubiak (1965), Roth (1989), Niven and Wojtal (2002), Krzemi nska (2008), Krzemi nska and Wojtal (2014), and Grigoriev et al (2014), among others.…”

“…Krzemi nska (2009;Krzemi nska and Wę dzicha, 2015) found examples of reunited rib fractures in M. primigenius from the Gravettian site of Milovice I in the Czech Republic; one example was fully fused and healed, but other ribs (possibly three) from one or more individuals had not fused well. Krzemi nska (2008) and Krzemi nska and Wę dzicha (2015) describe rib lesions from Polish and Czech Upper Paleolithic M. primigenius that may have been associated with trauma, although infections or nutritional problems also might account for them.…”

“…primigenius (Krzemi nska, 2008;Leshchinskiy, 2012;Krzemi nska et al, 2015). Some of the holes have rough boundaries, and may show an acute stage of the pathology, but others have smooth edges and are interpreted as recovering bone or healed lesions.…”

“…Holman et al (1988) suggested that mid-continental North American mammoths and mastodons migrated frequently in the late Pleistocene to known sources of sodium-rich earth to eat minerals, thus warding off possible metabolic disorders from mineral deficiencies in their foraging ranges. Krzemi nska et al (2015) suggest that oscillating climate and especially hard cold winters in the late Pleistocene greatly reduced minerals and nutrients available in mammoth forage, accounting for the abundant evidence of metabolic disorders in some mammoth-bone assemblages.…”

Pathological changes on the ribs of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius)

“…Leshchinskiy gives more attention to pathologies on mammoth bones from Russian sites: Lugovskoye, Shestakovo, Kochegur, Volch'ya Griva, Gary, Berelekh, Krasnoyarskaya Kurya, and the Polish site Kraków Spadzista street (short report) (Leshchinskiy and Burkanova, 2003;Leshchinskiy, 2006;Leshchinskiy, 2009;Leshchinskiy et al, 2010;Leshchinskiy, 2012). More precise study of mammoth pathology can be also found in: Krzemi nska (2008( ), Krzemi nska et al (2015. All these reports of mammoth pathology are precious, for until now they are the main source of information on that subject.…”