Quarry workers just doing their jobs make prehistoric discovery

Workers in Central Asia made a “mammoth” discovery earlier this month.

Laborers came across the bones of an ancient mammoth while quarrying on June 2. In a press release, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture explained that the remains were found in “the sandy areas of the ancient floodplain of the Jyrgalang River.”

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country surrounded by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and China. The discovery was found in the Issyk-Kul Region, which borders the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

The officials’ statement, which was translated from Kyrgyz to English, explained that archaeologists were promptly called over to the site in order to analyze the remarkable discovery.

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Split image of mammoth bones and man holding tooth

Quarry workers in Central Asia made a “mammoth” discovery on June 2, pictures show. (Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture)

“During the inspection, it became known that fragments of a tooth and a lower jaw were found in two different places, 140-150 meters apart, in the sand-gravel deposits of the quarry at a depth of 3-5 meters,” officials explained. “A part of the buried bone was found while cleaning the place where the tusks were found.”

Pictures show the mammoth’s gigantic jaw and teeth, which were held in place in the sand. Archaeologists needed to take special care to make sure the bones were preserved.

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Split image of tooth and archaeologists working

The discovered remains of the mammoth included its jaw and teeth. (Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture)

“Exposed bones do not remain in their original state for long and are quickly destroyed by exposure to sunlight,” the press release added. “Therefore, archaeologists made a hole from top to bottom and cleaned what was found, which turned out to be the preserved lower part of the skull of a mammoth.”

“Archaeologists were only able to extract part of the skull due to the poor condition of the bones,” the statement added. “The teeth and jaw fragments found earlier were cleaned and preserved in situ.”

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Quarry workers found the mammoth near the Jyrgalang River in Kyrgyzstan. (Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture)

The statement added that, while the discoveries of the teeth and the jaw are isolated, “their presence in two different locations of the same quarry indicates that the quarry area may be promising for future discoveries.”

“We appeal to all citizens of the country to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure the preservation of historical and cultural heritage objects, to inform the state body and archaeologists about the find, to conduct further research and to ensure safety,” officials added.