Far in the north of Russia, in the city of Yakutsk, there is a one-of-a-kind Mammoth Museum, whose expositions include more than two thousand bones of ancient fossil animals. And this is not at all surprising, because it is on the territory of Yakutia in the layers of permafrost that a huge number of bones of a mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, bison and other ancient creatures are found.
Finding the museum will not be difficult, the residents of Yakutsk, the city with the Mammoth Museum, are very proud of it and will be happy to show you the way.
History of the creation of the museum
Since ancient times, the inhabitants of the Far North have mined huge bones of strange animals from the permafrost. And if mammoth tusks were used in the manufacture of skillful carvings, then the rest of the bone remains were of no value to the locals.
For the first time a scientific expedition to the territory of Yakutia was sent in 1799 from the capital's Academy of Sciences. The expedition was led by zoologist Michael Adams, and the first mammoth skeleton found by scientists at that time was called mammoth. Adams.
The next expedition was equipped much later, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, scientists have regularly carried out scientific research on the territory of Yakutia, and many unique fossils have been found. Basically, all extracted parts of animals were sent to the central institutions of the country, until in 1991 a decision was made to create a Mammoth Museum. The initiator was the first Yakut mammothologist Pyotr Alekseevich Lazarev, who believed that it was more expedient to study and systematize the remains of fossil animals where they are found.
Unique finds
Since the establishment of the Mammoth Museum of Local Lore, its scientific expeditions have made several significant discoveries. So, in 2009, an incomplete part of the Verkhoyansk horse was found, its age is estimated at 4450 years. An undamaged mummy of an ancient predatory beast and an intact mummy of a bison cub were also unearthed. Each find, where parts of the soft tissues of animals have been preserved, is of great scientific value. All such exhibits are stored in a huge underground freezer-laboratory, where most scientific research is carried out.
One of the latest significant finds made by museum workers is a well-preserved spear found among the ribs of a mammoth. The size of the ancient spear is about 30 centimeters, it is entirely carved from mammoth bone. Scientists call the approximate age of the find - 12 thousand years.
Museum exhibits
On the stands of the Mammoth Museuma huge amount of information has been collected on how exactly the search and removal of the remains of ancient animals from the soil takes place. This is a painstaking process that requires great care and scrupulousness. There are still a lot of maps, photographs from the excavation site, bones, teeth, tusks and other parts of ancient fossils.
The large exhibits of the museum amaze with their monumentality. In his collection, available for inspection by tourists, there are three fully restored skeletons: a mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros and a bison. Next to a huge mammoth in the local history museum, a large fossil predator, a life-size white lion, bares its teeth. Such a number of fossil remains can only be seen here. Many exhibits presented in the museum have no analogues in the whole world.
Many finds of prehistoric animals made on the territory of Yakutia adorn the museums of Russia and the world. For example, a complete mammoth skeleton is part of the Natural History Museum in Paris.
Mammoth Dima
One of the world's most famous prehistoric animals, the baby mammoth Dima, was also found in Yakutia. This happened in 1977 in the upper reaches of the Kolyma River. Its discovery almost immediately became a worldwide sensation: all parts of the animal, including tissues and internal organs, were almost completely intact. Only the skin of the animal, which the dogs were able to get to, was slightly damaged.
The found body of a baby mammoth was transported to Moscow for further study. Today Dima is one of the exhibits of the Zoological InstituteRAS.
However, in Yakutia it would be impossible to ignore such a find, so the Mammoth Museum has an exact life-size copy of the baby mammoth Dima. It rises on a separate podium above the rest of the museum's exposition.
Mammoth mammoth and rhinoceros
But the huge skeletons of a mammoth and a woolly rhinoceros, located in the halls of the museum, are completely authentic. When you are next to them, the thought involuntarily creeps in: how could our brave ancestors hunt such huge animals?
The mammoth skeleton in the local history museum is installed on a separate pedestal for comfortable viewing, so the animal can be viewed from all sides. On the same elevation lie individual bones and teeth of mammoths. Each exhibit has a detailed description.
The woolly rhinoceros, whose skeleton also adorns the Mammoth Museum, lived on our planet at the same time as mammoths. This huge animal grew to two meters at the withers, and its two sharp horns were menacing enough to scare off offenders. It is known that ancient people almost never hunted woolly rhinos.
International projects
Museum scientists work very closely with paleontologists from different countries, often conducting joint expeditions to search for rare parts of ancient animals.
In addition to parts of animals of the Ice Age, fossilized remains of various breeds of dinosaurs are found in Yakutia.
Because ofDue to the uniqueness of the exposition collected by the museum staff, international "mammoth" exhibitions are often organized, in which many world-famous scientists are interested.
Also interesting is the joint project with Japanese scientists to clone mammoths. The very idea seems fantastic, but the preservation of some of the remains in the permafrost is such that scientists admit such a possibility.
Note to tourists
Finding the location of the Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk (Kulakovsky St., 48) is not difficult, everyone will tell you the way. Despite the fact that the area of the museum is quite small: one hall and two floors, it will not be possible to quickly examine all the exhibits, there are too many of them.
You can visit the museum any day except Monday. Those wishing to take a photo at the Mammoth Museum will have to pay a little extra, but the cost will be symbolic. If you wish, you can order an excursion or join the formed excursion group.
There are also interesting workshops on carving mammoth ivory. An experienced carver shares the secrets of craftsmanship, then, before the eyes of the audience, cuts a small elegant figurine from a piece of tusk. Then, those who wish can try their hand at this creative process.
For those who want to take a piece of Yakutia with them, there is a souvenir department where you can buy interesting crafts carved from bone.
It should be noted that in the same building on the lower floors there is the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, a visit to which will also be quite informative.
