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Shedding Light on a Mammoth Mystery: Adelphi Research Update on Monday, September 28

Adelphi's Brian Wygal, Ph.D., and Kathryn Krasinski, Ph.D., who led the project, will join with other experts to share updates on the find and its meaning.

Garden City, NY (09/21/2020) — In 2016, two Adelphi University anthropology faculty members, working in Alaska with student collaborators, found a virtually complete, 14,000-year-old tusk of what may have been one of the last woolly mammoths on the Alaska mainland. At the time, it was thought to offer clues as to why the mammal later went extinct.

Adelphi's Brian Wygal, Ph.D., and Kathryn Krasinski, Ph.D., who led the project, will join with other experts to share updates on the find and its meaning. Along with Wygal and Krasinski, presenters will include Julio Ruiz Diaz of Adelphi's Honors College, Barbara A. Crass of the Museum of the North and Charles E. Holmes from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Historically, Mammoths flourished in Siberia and North America during the Ice Age, which was at its coldest 22,000 years ago. As the Earth's climate warmed over the next 10,000 years, the mammoth's habitats underwent significant changes. By the end of that time of "rapid" warming, the animals were virtually extinct, likely due to either climate change or overhunting. This particular discovery was notable because it demonstrated an instance of humans hunting live mammoths, rather than just scavenging ivory from older sites. See more about the discovery in a 2017 news story.

The presentation, "A Mammoth Discovery: Ice-age Archaeology in Alaska," will take place on Monday, September 28, at 2 p.m. on Zoom. The free presentation is open to the public and pre-registration is required at bit.ly/mammothupdate.

For those observing Yom Kippur on Monday, the event will be recorded and available online.

Photo Caption: The 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk is the largest ever found in Alaska on a site associated with humans. Its presence holds clues to the history of the first Americans and their possible role in the mammoths' extinction.

Photo Credit: Adelphi University

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Adelphi University is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university offering exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training with particular strength in its Core Four-Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness. Adelphi is dedicated to transforming students' lives through small classes, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support student success.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1896, Adelphi is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. Today Adelphi serves nearly 8,000 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York-just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities-and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, and online.

More than 116,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, caring citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world.

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The 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk is the largest ever found in Alaska on a site associated with humans. Its presence holds clues to the history of the first Americans and their possible role in the mammoths’ extinction.

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