Misplaced Pages

#431568

174-539: The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait , or alternately along the ice free coastal islands of British Columbia ( See [1] , through the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities, to the arrival of the European explorers and colonizers . The west coast of North America today

348-530: A salt marsh in Virginia . These remains were subsequently sent on by US army commander Arthur Campbell to future US president Thomas Jefferson . Campbell noted in a letter that several Africans had seen one of the teeth, and “All … pronounced it an elephant.” Catesby's account was later noted by the French paleontologist Georges Cuvier around the beginning of the 19th century, with Cuvier personally examining

522-536: A trackway similar to that left by modern elephants leads to one of the skeletons. The mammoth may have made the trackway before it died, or another individual may have approached the dead or dying animal—similar to the way modern elephants guard dead relatives for several days. Accumulations of modern elephant remains have been called " elephants' graveyards ", because these sites were erroneously thought to be where old elephants went to die. Similar accumulations of mammoth bones have been found; these are thought to be

696-602: A 2007 study found that the Clovis record indicated the highest frequency of prehistoric exploitation of proboscideans for subsistence in the world, and supported the "overkill hypothesis". A 2019 study that used mathematical modelling to simulate correlations between migrations of humans and Columbian mammoths also supported the "overkill hypothesis". Whatever the actual cause of extinction, large mammals are generally more susceptible to hunting pressure than smaller ones due to their smaller population size and low reproduction rates. On

870-470: A 2018 genetic study: † Mammut americanum (American mastodon) † Mammuthus columbi ( Columbian mammoth ) † Mammuthus primigenius (woolly mammoth) Elephas maximus (Asian elephant) † Palaeoloxodon antiquus (straight-tusked elephant) Loxodonta cyclotis (African forest elephant) Loxodonta africana (African bush elephant) Since many remains of each species of mammoth are known from several localities, reconstructing

1044-546: A Franco-American syndicate represented by de Lobel to begin work on the Trans-Siberian Alaska railroad project, but no physical work ever commenced. Suggestions have been made to construct a Bering Strait bridge between Alaska and Siberia. Despite the unprecedented engineering, political, and financial challenges, Russia green-lit a US$ 65-billion TKM-World Link tunnel project in August 2011. If completed,

1218-414: A broad sense covering the entire time-period of mammoth occupation of North America. Larramendi 2016 estimated the average male Columbian mammoth to have had a shoulder height of 3.75 m (12.3 ft) and a weight of 9.5 t (9.3 long tons; 10.5 short tons), though large males may have reached 4.2 m (14 ft) in shoulder height and 12.5 t (12.3 long tons; 13.8 short tons) in weight. It

1392-613: A combination of both. Around 1725, enslaved Africans digging in the vicinity of the Stono River in South Carolina unearthed 3-4 molar teeth now known to have belonged to Columbian mammoths, which were subsequently examined by the British naturalist Mark Catesby , who visited the site, and published his account of the visit in 1743. While the slave owners were puzzled by the objects and suggested that they originated from

1566-470: A day. Mammoths chewed their food using their powerful jaw muscles to move the mandible forward and close the mouth, then backward while opening; the sharp enamel ridges thereby cut across each other, grinding the food. The ridges were wear-resistant, enabling the animal to chew large quantities of food that contained grit. The trunk could be used for pulling up large tufts of grass, picking buds and flowers, or tearing leaves and branches from trees and shrubs, and

1740-475: A decision was made to create a harbor at San Blas (in today's Mexican state of Nayarit ), for the purpose of building ships, supplying them, and being the expeditionary base for voyages north along the west coast of North America, from Baja California to Alaska. Today it remains unclear exactly why the Viceroy of New Spain decided to create an entirely new shipbuilding port along the west coast of Mexico, when

1914-488: A distinct species, that is estimated to have split from the ancestors of woolly mammoths around 2.7-1.8 million years ago. The study found that a large proportion of the ancestry of Columbian mammoths came from the Krestovka lineage, which were probably representative of the first mammoths to have colonised North America, and another substantial contribution coming from early representatives of the woolly mammoth lineage, with

SECTION 10

#1732776744432

2088-677: A feature known from European depictions of mammoths. The tusks are short, which may indicate they are meant to be females. A carving of a bison (possibly the extinct Bison antiquus ) is superimposed on one of the mammoth carvings and may be a later addition. Geological dating of the San Juan River depictions in 2013 have shown them to be less than 4000 years old, after mammoths and mastodons went extinct, and they may instead be an arrangement of unrelated elements. Other possible depictions of Columbian mammoths have been shown to be either misinterpretations or fraudulent. The Columbian mammoth

2262-427: A few cms long, which were replaced by permanent tusks a year later. Annual tusk growth of 2.5–15 cm (0.98–5.91 in) continued throughout life, slowing as the animal reached adulthood. Columbian mammoths had four functional molar teeth at a time, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. A mammoth's molars were replaced five times over the animal's lifetime, with a total of six succeeding molars on each half of

2436-610: A few thousand years prior to their extinction, Columbian mammoths coexisted in North America with Paleoindians – the first humans to inhabit the Americas – who hunted them for food, used their bones for making tools, and possibly depicted them in ancient art. Columbian mammoth remains have been found in association with Clovis culture artifacts; these remains stemmed from hunting as well as possibly scavenging. The last Columbian mammoths are dated to about ~12,000 years ago, with

2610-584: A greatly increased British presence in the Pacific Northwest , including today's British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. The primary beneficiary of this agreement was the Hudson's Bay Company , which, in 1825, established a major trading post at Fort Vancouver across the Columbia River just north of today's Portland, Oregon . From this headquarters, Company fur trappers spread throughout

2784-415: A herd of females and juveniles that died in a single event. The herd was originally proposed to have been killed by a flash flood , and the arrangement of some of the skeletons suggests that the females may have formed a defensive ring around the juveniles. In 2016, the herd was suggested to have died by drought near a diminishing watering hole ; scavenging traces on the bones contradict rapid burial, and

2958-463: A mammoth femur; the object is thought to be a shaft wrench, a tool for straightening wood and bone to make spear-shafts (the Inuit use similar tools). Although some sites potentially documenting human interactions with Columbian mammoths have been reported from as early 20,000 years ago, these have been criticised, as they lack stone tools, and the supposed human-made marks on the bones are potentially

3132-447: A million years, but cautioned that more specimens need to be sampled. In 2021, DNA older than a million years was sequenced for the first time, from two steppe mammoth-like teeth of Early Pleistocene age found in eastern Siberia. One tooth from Adyocha (1-1.3 million years old) belonged to a lineage that was ancestral to later woolly mammoths, whereas the other from Krestovka (1.1–1.65 million years old) belonged to new lineage, possibly

3306-523: A position at 59° north latitude on August 15, 1775, entering Sitka Sound near the present-day town of Sitka, Alaska . It is there that the Spaniards performed numerous "acts of sovereignty," naming and claiming Puerto de Bucareli ( Bucareli Sound ), Puerto de los Remedios, and Mount San Jacinto (renamed Mount Edgecumbe by British explorer James Cook three years later). In 1790, Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo led an expedition that included visits to

3480-581: A quarter of the tusks' length was inside the sockets; they grew spirally in opposite directions from the base, curving until the tips pointed towards each other, and sometimes crossed. Most of their weight would have been close to the skull, with less torque than straight tusks would have generated. The tusks were usually asymmetrical, with considerable variation; some tusks curved down, instead of outwards, or were shorter due to breakage. Columbian mammoth tusks were generally less twisted than those of woolly mammoths. At six months of age, calves developed milk tusks

3654-773: A result of the greater grazing efficiency of Columbian mammoths, with competition with mammoths also suggested to be the reason for the contraction of the northern part of the range of the generalist gomphothere Cuvieronius . Towards the end of the Late Pleistocene, around or after 16,000 years ago, Paleoindians entered the Americas through the Beringia landbridge, and evidence documents their interactions with Columbian mammoths. Tools made from Columbian mammoth remains have been discovered in several North American sites. At Tocuila, Mexico, mammoth bones were quarried 13,000 years ago to produce lithic flakes and cores . At

SECTION 20

#1732776744432

3828-533: A separate nation in 1838. Almost all of these Central American nations saw continuing political strife throughout this period (and into the 20th century), as struggles continued between indigenous peoples and elites, and among factions of the elites. In 1786, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse led a group of French scientists and artists on a voyage of exploration ordered by Louis XVI and were welcomed in Monterey, California . They compiled an account of

4002-465: A short, deep rostrum (front part of the jaws), a rounded mandibular symphysis (where the two halves of the lower jaw connected) and the coronoid process of the mandible (upper protrusion of the jaw bone) extending above the molar surfaces. Apart from its larger size and more primitive molars, the Columbian mammoth also differed from the woolly mammoth by its more downturned mandibular symphysis;

4176-419: A similar fluorine content profile, and were recovered within the same geological unit. It was years later that the ‘Los Angeles Man’ remains were finally dated, but by then the mammoth remains were not available for comparative study, and only the cranium of ‘Los Angeles Man’ remained available for dating. The UCLA radiocarbon laboratory indicated the sample age to be more than 23,600 old (UCLA sample #1430), but

4350-556: A similar number of molar ridges. Mammoths derived from M. trogontherii evolved molars with 26 ridges 400,000 years ago in Siberia and became the woolly mammoth ( M. primigenius ). Woolly mammoths entered North America about 100,000 years ago. A population of mammoths derived from Columbian mammoths that lived between 80,000 and 13,000 years ago on the Channel Islands of California , 10 km (6.2 mi) away from

4524-559: A source of agricultural products needed for their settlements in Alaska. In the late 18th century, Spain reacted to the increasing Russian and British presence in the Pacific Northwest by sending exploratory expeditions along the coast as far north as Alaska. In 1774 Juan José Pérez Hernández was commissioned to explore the coast up to 60° N, but only made it as far as 55°30´ N. Off Langara Island in Haida Gwaii he made contact with

4698-645: A study of the Nootka . The two ships then sailed south to Mexico, stopping at the Spanish settlement and mission at Monterey, California on the way. Simultaneously an expedition under Francisco de Eliza , exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca , discovered an entrance to the Strait of Georgia , which prompted further investigation. In Acapulco , Malaspina took over two schooners, the Sutil and Mexicana , placed them under

4872-539: A team of 65 swimmers from 17 countries performed a relay swim across the Bering Strait, the first such swim in history. They swam from Cape Dezhnev, Russia, to Cape Prince of Wales , United States (roughly 110 kilometers (68 mi), due to the current). They had direct support from the Russian Navy, using one of its ships, and assistance with permission. A physical link between Asia and North America via

5046-413: A very aged specimen, were deformed by arthritic disease, and four of its lumbar vertebrae were fused; some bones also indicate bacterial infection, such as osteomyelitis . The condition of the bones suggests the specimen died of old age and malnutrition. Columbian mammoths inhabited much of North America, ranging from southern Canada to Central America (where it was largely confined to the vicinity of

5220-719: A volcanic lahar mudflow covered at least seven individuals 12,500 years ago. How many mammoths lived at one location at a time is unknown, but the number likely varied by season and lifecycle. Modern elephants can form large herds, sometimes consisting of multiple family groups, and these herds can include thousands of animals migrating together. Mammoths may have formed large herds more often than modern elephants, since animals living in open areas are more likely to do this than those in forested areas. Many specimens also accumulated in natural traps, such as sinkholes and tar pits . The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs , South Dakota ,

5394-586: Is a 26,000-year-old, roughly 40 m (130 ft)-long sinkhole that functioned for 300 to 700 years before filling with sediment . The site is the opposite scenario of that in Waco; all but one of the at least 55 skeletons—additional skeletons are excavated each year—are male, and accumulated over time rather than in a single event. Like modern male elephants, male mammoths primarily are assumed to have lived alone, to be more adventurous (especially young males), and to be more likely to encounter dangerous situations than

History of the west coast of North America - Misplaced Pages Continue

5568-610: Is evidence of trade routes starting as far north as the Mexico Central Plateau , and going down to the Pacific coast. These trade routes and cultural contacts then went on as far as Central America. These networks operated along the west coast with various interruptions from pre-Olmec times and up to the Late Classical Period (600–900 CE). In 1513, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to reach

5742-591: Is home to some of the largest and most important companies in the world, as well as being a center of world culture. As used in this article, the term "west coast of North America" means a contiguous region of that continent bordering the Pacific Ocean : all or parts of the U.S. states of Alaska , Washington , Oregon , and California ; all or parts of British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada ; all or part of

5916-494: Is intriguing to become mistress of California." Bering Strait The Bering Strait has been the subject of the scientific theory that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been

6090-591: Is likely that, before European contact, the population density was significantly higher than in the rest of the northern part of the continent. For example, it has been estimated that in 1492, one-third of all Native Americans in the United States were living in what is now California. The Channel Islands of California provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas. They are now known to have been settled by maritime Paleo-Indian peoples at least 13,000 years ago. The Arlington Springs Man

6264-585: Is not yet fully resolved. The earliest known members of Proboscidea, the clade that contains the elephants, existed about 55 million years ago around the Tethys Sea area. The closest living relatives of the Proboscidea are the sirenians ( dugongs and manatees ) and the hyraxes (an order of small, herbivorous mammals). The family Elephantidae existed six million years ago in Africa , and includes

6438-602: Is similar to the diet documented for the woolly mammoth, although browsing seems to have been more important for the Columbian mammoth. The cover of dung is 41 cm (16 in) thick, and has a volume of 227 m (8,000 cu ft), with the largest boluses 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter. The Bechan dung could have been produced by a small group of mammoths over a relatively short time, since adult African elephants drop an average of 11 kg (24 lb) of dung every two hours and 90–135 kg (198–298 lb) each day. Giant North American fruits of plants such as

6612-604: Is the state fossil of Washington and South Carolina. Nebraska 's state fossil is "Archie", a Columbian mammoth specimen found in the state in 1922. "Archie" is currently on display at Elephant Hall in Lincoln, Nebraska , and is the largest mounted mammoth specimen in the United States. Columbian and woolly mammoths both disappeared from mainland North America by the latest Pleistocene, with no recorded Holocene survival, alongside most other latest Pleistocene megafauna of North America. The latest calibrated radiocarbon date of

6786-446: Is thought to have been about 80 years. The lifespan of a mammal is related to its size; Columbian mammoths are larger than modern elephants, which have a lifespan of about 60 years. The age of a mammoth can be roughly determined by counting the growth rings of its tusks when viewed in cross section. However, ring-counting does not account for a mammoth's early years; early growth is represented in tusk tips, which are usually worn away. In

6960-685: Is unclear, an isotope analysis of Blackwater Draw in New Mexico indicated that they spent part of the year in the Rocky Mountains, 200 km (120 mi) away. The study of tusk rings may aid further study of mammoth migration. On Goat Rock Beach in Sonoma Coast State Park , blueschist and chert outcrops (nicknamed "Mammoth Rocks") show evidence of having been rubbed by Columbian mammoths or mastodons. The rocks have polished areas 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) above

7134-508: Is unknown, but it was probably less dense than that of the woolly mammoth due to the warmer habitat. An additional tuft of Columbian mammoth hair is known from near Castroville in California, the hair was noted to be red-orange and was described as being similar in colour to a golden retriever . Columbian mammoths had very long tusks (modified incisor teeth), which were more curved than those of modern elephants. Their tusks are among

History of the west coast of North America - Misplaced Pages Continue

7308-620: The Bear Flag Revolt . During the 1820s, the Central American possessions of Spain gained their independence, and the boundaries of the young nations shifted in alliances and configurations. For example, what was to become the nation of Panama was simply a province of Colombia , and Guatemala was variously part of a confederation with Mexico, and part of the United Provinces of Central America , before becoming

7482-523: The Coclé style. Each of these cultures rose, flourished, and was then conquered by a more militarily developed culture. While not all of these civilizations had large settlements along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, their influence extended to the Pacific coast. Regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica —and especially along the west coast—have been the subject of considerable research. There

7656-530: The Early Pleistocene around 1.5–1.3 million years ago, and later experienced hybridisation with the woolly mammoth lineage. The Columbian mammoth was among the last mammoth species, and the pygmy mammoths evolved from them on the Channel Islands of California . The closest extant relative of the Columbian and other mammoths is the Asian elephant . Reaching 3.72–4.2 m (12.2–13.8 ft) at

7830-628: The Gulf of California six weeks later. Ulloa named the Gulf the "Sea of Cortés" in honor of his patron. When one of his ships was lost in a storm, Ulloa paused to repair the other two ships, and then resumed his voyage, eventually reaching the northern end of the Gulf. Unable to find the Strait of Anián, Ulloa turned south and sailed along the eastern coast of the Baja California peninsula , landing at

8004-711: The Haida , and on the homeward journey, the Nuu-chah-nulth . In 1775, a two-ship exploration expedition led by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta landed on the coast of today's Washington—the first European to have sailed this far north along the coast. The expedition re-asserted Spanish claims to all the coastal lands, including to the Russian settlements in the north. The two ships sailed together as far north as Point Grenville , named Punta de los Martires (or "Point of

8178-696: The Isla de Cedros ). Voyages in 1540 and 1541 to Baja California were sponsored by Cortés's rival, the Viceroy of New Spain . These voyages were led by Hernando de Alarcón (1540) and by Francisco de Bolaños (1541). The voyage by Alarcón was meant to be coordinated with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado 's overland expedition; Alarcón penetrated the lower Colorado River, perhaps as far as the modern California-Arizona boundary (but did not meet up with Coronado's expedition). The voyage of Bolaños provided little new information not already known in New Spain. Application of

8352-648: The Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japan Current), and made landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape Mendocino . A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco. This route was charted by the Basque navigator and friar Andrés de Urdaneta , on board the San Pedro , and for nearly three centuries

8526-562: The Malaspina Glacier and Cordova Glacier, the towns of Valdez , Cordova and Port Gravina, as well as Orca Bay , Cordova Peak, and Revillagigedo Island . In British Columbia some of the better-known Spanish names (of many) include Quadra Island , Galiano Island , Gabriola Island , and Haro Strait . In 1778, the British seafaring Captain James Cook , midway through his third and final voyage of exploration, sailed along

8700-646: The Mexican states of Baja California , Baja California Sur , Sonora , Sinaloa , Nayarit , Jalisco , Colima , Michoacán , Guerrero , Oaxaca and Chiapas ; and the Central American countries of Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and Panama . The eastern islands of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast, such as the coastal islands of the Californias , are also important. The west coast of North America likely saw

8874-625: The Nootka Crisis . War between Spain and Great Britain over control of the Pacific Northwest was averted by the three Nootka Conventions , signed in 1790, 1793, and 1794. Spain gave up its claim that it alone could establish settlements in the Pacific Northwest (a claim that dated back to the 1493 papal bull and Balboa's actions in 1513), and conceded the British right to establish settlements in any area nominally claimed by Spain but never occupied. This agreement effectively allowed

SECTION 50

#1732776744432

9048-462: The Osage-orange , Kentucky coffeetree , pawpaw and honey locust have been proposed to have evolved in tandem with now-extinct American megafauna such as mammoths and other proboscideans, since no extant endemic herbivores are able to ingest these fruits and disperse their seeds. Introduced cattle and horses have since taken over this ecological role. The lifespan of the Columbian mammoth

9222-614: The Spanish Empire from making regular visits and establishing settlements and ports until the second half of the 18th century—some 200 years after Europeans first reached the east coast of North America. Explorers flying the flag of Spain reached the New World beginning in 1492 with the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus . Spanish expeditions colonized and explored vast areas in North and South America following

9396-779: The Spanish treasure fleet , for shipment to Spain. The income provided to Spain by the Manila Galleons was essential to the Spanish Crown and to the Spanish economy of the era. When Miguel López de Legazpi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he sent his flagship, the San Pedro , back to New Spain, with orders to survey and chart a practicable route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro sailed from Cebu , headed roughly northeast, followed

9570-404: The dental alveoli (tooth sockets) of the tusks were directed more laterally away from the midline. Its tail was intermediate in length between that of modern elephants and the woolly mammoth. Since no Columbian mammoth soft tissue has been found, much less is known about its appearance than that of the woolly mammoth. It lived in warmer habitats than the woolly mammoth, and probably lacked many of

9744-506: The great flood described in the Bible, Catesby noted that the slaves unanimously agreed that the objects were in fact the teeth of elephants , similar to those of African elephants that they were familiar with from their homeland, to which Catesby concurred, marking the first technical identification of any fossil animal in North America. A similar observation was made in 1782 after enslaved Africans had excavated mammoth bones and teeth from

9918-460: The "Ice Curtain". It was completely closed, and there was no regular passenger air or boat traffic. Since 2012, the Russian coast of the Bering Strait has been a closed military zone . Through organized trips and the use of special permits, it is possible for foreigners to visit. All arrivals must be through an airport or a cruise port, near the Bering Strait only at Anadyr or Provideniya . Unauthorized travelers who arrive on shore after crossing

10092-601: The 103-kilometer (64 mi) tunnel would be the world's longest. China considered construction of a "China-Russia-Canada-America" railroad line that would include construction of a 200-kilometer-long (120 mi) underwater tunnel that would cross the Bering Strait. In 1956, the Soviet Union proposed to the US a joint bi-national project to warm the Arctic Ocean and melt some of the ice cap. As designed by Petr Borisov,

10266-588: The 1830s, Mexico ended Church control of the missions in California and opened the land to secular development, particularly ranching. By the 1840s, there were small Mexican settlements at San Diego, Los Angeles , San Francisco, and the territorial capital at Monterey . These settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow with American and European merchant vessels. This period is vividly portrayed in Bostonian Richard Henry Dana Jr. 's famous seafaring memoir, Two Years Before

10440-588: The 1838 excavation of the Brunswick–Altamaha Canal in Georgia , in the southeastern United States. At the time, similar fossils from across North America were attributed to woolly mammoths (then Elephas primigenius ). Falconer found that his specimens were distinct, confirming his conclusion by examining their internal structure and studying additional molars from Mexico. Although scientists William Phipps Blake and Richard Owen believed that E. texianus

10614-1337: The 24-28 typical of woolly mammoths. Growing 18 cm (7.1 in) of ridge took about 10.6 years. Like that of modern elephants, the mammoth's sensitive, muscular trunk was a limb-like organ with many functions. It was used for manipulating objects and social interaction. Although healthy adult mammoths could defend themselves from predators with their tusks, trunks, and size, juveniles and weakened adults were vulnerable to pack hunters such as wolves and big cats . Bones of juvenile Columbian mammoths, accumulated by Homotherium (the scimitar-toothed cat), have been found in Friesenhahn Cave in Texas . Tusks may have been used in intraspecies fighting for territory or mates and for display, to attract females and intimidate rivals. Two Columbian mammoths that died in Nebraska with tusks interlocked provide evidence of fighting behavior. The mammoths could use their tusks as weapons by thrusting, swiping, or crashing them down, and used them in pushing contests by interlocking them, which sometimes resulted in breakage. The tusks' curvature made them unsuitable for stabbing. Although to what extent Columbian mammoths migrated

SECTION 60

#1732776744432

10788-600: The Americas, is engraved with either a mammoth or a mastodon. While the authenticity of this depiction is based on continuity of mineralisation across the markings, other possible indicators are inconclusive at present. Petroglyphs from the San Juan River in Utah have been suggested to be 11,000–13,000-years old and to include depictions of two Columbian mammoths; the mammoths' domed heads distinguish them from mastodons. They are also shown with two "fingers" on their trunks,

10962-403: The Arctic regions of Canada, which were instead inhabited by woolly mammoths. The ranges of the two species may have overlapped, and genetic evidence suggests that they interbred. Several sites contain the skeletons of multiple Columbian mammoths, either because they died in incidents such as a drought , or because these locations were natural traps in which individuals accumulated over time. For

11136-407: The Bay of La Paz. After taking on supplies of wood and water, Ulloa rounded the tip of the peninsula with great difficulty and sailed northward along the western shore of the peninsula, in the Pacific Ocean. The progress of his small ships was hampered by the fierce winds and high seas he encountered, eventually forcing him to turn back to Acapulco. The voyage eventually reached 28° north latitude (near

11310-421: The Bering Strait by removing St. Lawrence Island and parts of Seward and Chukotski Peninsulas . A strait 320 kilometers (200 mi) wide would let the Japan Current melt the Arctic Ocean. In the 21st century, a 300-kilometer (190 mi) dam has also been proposed. However, the aim of the proposal is to preserve the Arctic ice cap against global warming. During the Cold War , the Bering Strait marked

11484-454: The Bering Strait nearly became a reality in 1864 when a Russian-American telegraph company began preparations for an overland telegraph line connecting Europe and America via the east. It was abandoned when the undersea Atlantic Cable proved successful. A further proposal for a bridge-and-tunnel link from eastern Russia to Alaska was made by French engineer Baron Loicq de Lobel in 1906. Czar Nicholas II of Russia issued an order authorising

11658-532: The Black Marsh occupation, individuals were buried in an extended position facing north if on the east side of the site and south if on the west side. Observations by researchers suggest that individuals were not interred based on their sex or age, leading some archaeologists to assume a more culturally significant reason. In the western half of Mesoamerica (that is, western portions of today's Mexico and northern Central America ), some larger settlements appeared around 2000 BCE. A succession of cultures started with

11832-416: The California mission system, the land and the people. The leader of a further French scientific expedition to California, Eugène Duflot de Mofras , wrote in 1840 "...it is evident that California will belong to whatever nation chooses to send there a man-of-war and two hundred men." In 1841, the Mexican military commander in Northern California, General Mariano Vallejo , wrote "there is no doubt that France

12006-422: The Columbian mammoth is in the locality of the Dent site in Colorado which dates to 12,124–12,705 years Before Present , during the onset of the Younger Dryas cold phase (12,900-11,700 years BP) and Clovis culture (13,200-12,800 years BP). Its younger calibrated date compared to most other extinct latest Pleistocene species suggests that it was one of the last North American megafauna to have gone extinct. Amongst

12180-410: The English would be some two hundred years later, Drake's action and Cabot's original claim in 1497 were the foundations of British claims to portions of the west coast of North America in the late 18th century. These claims would later be ceded to the United States after the Oregon boundary dispute . While the Spanish had dominated development on the west coast of North America for over 200 years since

12354-420: The Hot Springs Site. Whether the two species were sympatric and lived there simultaneously, or if the woolly mammoths entered southern areas when Columbian mammoth populations were absent is unknown. The arrival of the Columbian mammoth in North America is thought to have resulted in the extinction of the grazing gomphothere Stegomastodon around 1.2 million years ago, as a result of competitive exclusion as

12528-537: The Lange-Ferguson Site in South Dakota, the remains of two mammoths were found with two 12,800-year-old cleaver choppers made from a mammoth shoulder blade; the choppers had been used to butcher the mammoths. At the same site, a flake knife made from a long mammoth bone was also found wedged against mammoth vertebrae. At Murray Springs, archeologists discovered a 13,100-year-old object made from

12702-477: The Martyrs") by Heceta in response to an attack by the local Quinault Indians. He was the first European to sight the mouth of the Columbia River. By design, the two vessels separated with one continuing to what is today the border between Washington state and Canada. The other (now with second officer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra at the helm) moved up the coast according to its orders, ultimately reaching

12876-451: The Mast and the culture of the great Mexican landowners of this period is often harked back to as exemplifying the height of California's romantic pastoral era. Mexican control of the territory ended after only 25 years, when attempts by local Mexican officials to expropriate the property of American ranchers and drive them out of California in the winter led to the successful uprising known as

13050-696: The North American type formerly referred to as M. jeffersonii may have been a hybrid between the two species, as it is apparently morphologically intermediate. These findings were unexpected, and other researchers requested further study to clarify the situation. A 2015 study of mammoth molars confirmed that M. columbi evolved from Eurasian M. trogontherii , not M. meridionalis as had been suggested earlier, and noted that M. columbi and M. trogontherii were so similar in morphology that their classification as separate species may be questionable. The study also suggested that

13224-637: The Pacific Northwest, extending as far east as the Rocky Mountains and, by using the Siskiyou Trail , as far south as California's Central Valley . After the Spanish possession now known as Mexico (first known as " América Septentrional " or "Northern America") won its War of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico initially retained Spain's missions and settlements along the Pacific coast, and continued Spain's claims to territory as far north as today's border between California and Oregon. In

13398-410: The Pacific Ocean could be crossed from South America. Hence, beginning in 1536, using hardware from Spain (such as anchors) hauled across the isthmus of Central America, and local hardwoods, a flotilla of some thirteen ships was built over the next four years. After much difficulty, the larger number of these ships (under the command of Ruy López de Villalobos ) was ordered to make the first crossing of

13572-538: The Pacific Ocean from North America to the Philippines . A smaller number was placed under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo , a Portuguese navigator sailing for the Spanish Crown. Cabrillo was ordered north along the west coast of North America to explore the expected coastal route to reach the Asian mainland, as well as attempt to find the Strait of Anián. In 1542, Cabrillo became the first European to explore

13746-523: The Pacific coast), with its southernmost record being in northern Costa Rica. The environment in these areas may have had more varied habitats than those inhabited by woolly mammoths in the north (the mammoth steppe ). Some areas were covered by grasses, herbaceous plants, trees, and shrubs; their composition varied from region to region, and included grassland , savanna , and aspen parkland habitats. Wooded areas also occurred; although mammoths would not have preferred forests, clearings in them could provide

13920-413: The Pacific coast, in the northwestern part of the peninsula. Although it wasn't until 1579 that the west coast of North America was visited by an English explorer, the privateer Sir Francis Drake who landed at Drake's Bay and claimed the area for England , calling it Nova Albion or New England. Despite the facts that no settlements were ever established by Drake, and that the next official visit by

14094-476: The Soviet Union in 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) water during the last years of the Cold War . She was congratulated jointly by American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . In June and July 1989, three independent teams attempted the first modern sea-kayak crossing of the Bering Strait. The groups were: seven Alaskans, who called their effort Paddling Into Tomorrow (i.e. crossing

14268-576: The Soviet plan by arguing that while the plan was feasible, it would compromise NORAD and thus the dam could be built at only an immense cost. Soviet scientist D. A. Drogaytsev also opposed the idea, stating that the sea north of the dam and north-flowing rivers in Siberia would become unnavigable year round, and the Gobi and other deserts would be extended to the northern Siberia coastline. American Charles P. Steinmetz (1865–1923) earlier proposed to widen

14442-581: The Soviet project called for a 90-kilometer-wide (56 mi) dam across the Bering Strait. It would block the cold Pacific current from entering the Arctic. By pumping low-salinity cold surface water across the dam to the Pacific, warmer and higher salinity sea water from the Atlantic Ocean would be introduced into the Arctic Ocean. However, citing national security concerns, the CIA and FBI experts opposed

14616-494: The Spaniard Vasco Núñez de Balboa , who reached the Pacific coast of Panama in 1513. In an act of enduring historical importance, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean for the Spanish Crown, as well as all adjoining land and islands. This act gave Spain exclusive sovereignty and navigation rights over the entire west coast of North America. The commonly held belief at the time was that the west coast of North America

14790-556: The absence of calves and the large diversity of other animal species found gathered at the site support this scenario. Another group, consisting of a bull and six females, was found at the same site; although both groups died between 64,000 and 73,000 years ago, whether they died in the same event is unknown. At the Murray Springs Clovis Site in Arizona, where several Columbian mammoth skeletons have been excavated,

14964-463: The adaptations seen in that species. Hair thought to be that of the Columbian mammoth has been discovered in Bechan Cave in Utah, where mammoth dung has also been found. Some of this hair is coarse, and identical to that known to belong to woolly mammoths; however, since this location is so far south, it is unlikely to be woolly mammoth hair. The distribution and density of fur on the living animal

15138-744: The animals in the range where M. columbi and M. primigenius overlapped formed a metapopulation of hybrids with varying morphology. In 2016, a genetic study of North American mammoth specimens confirmed that the mitochondrial diversity of M. columbi was nested within that of M. primigenius and suggested that both species interbred extensively, were both descended from M. trogontherii , and concluded that morphological differences between fossils may, therefore, not be reliable for determining taxonomy. The authors also questioned whether M. columbi and M. primigenius should be considered "good species", considering that they were able to interbreed after supposedly being separated for

15312-519: The animals with grasses and herbs. The Columbian mammoth shared its habitat with other now-extinct Pleistocene mammals such as Glyptotherium , Smilodon , ground sloths , Camelops , mastodons, horses, and bison. It did not live in Arctic Canada or Alaska, which was inhabited by woolly mammoths. Fossils of woolly and Columbian mammoths have been found in the same place in a few areas of North America where their ranges overlapped, including

15486-636: The area by conducting a formal ceremony of sovereignty. In 1791, the Malaspina Expedition undertook a search for the Northwest Passage , surveying the Alaska coast from Yakutat Bay to Prince William Sound . At Yakutat Bay, the expedition made contact with the Tlingit . The expedition's scientists made a study of the tribe, recording information on social mores, language, economy, warfare methods, and burial practices. Artists with

15660-597: The border between the Soviet Union and the United States . The Diomede Islands — Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (US)—are only 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. Traditionally, the indigenous people in the area had frequently crossed the border back and forth for "routine visits, seasonal festivals and subsistence trade", but were prevented from doing so during the Cold War. The border became known as

15834-436: The command of one of his officers, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano , and had them sail north to explore the Strait of Georgia. Galiano's expedition took place in 1792 at the same time as that of George Vancouver . The two expeditions met in the Strait of Georgia and worked together to map the waters and establish the insularity of Vancouver Island. Today, Spain's legacy endures as dozens of Spanish place names. In Alaska these include

16008-436: The corpse with their stone tools. While the study does not rule out the hunting of mammoths by early humans, it instead indicates that such an event was probably rare and potentially more dangerous and less rewarding than scavenging. In response, other scientists found no reason to abandon the traditional idea that Clovis points were used to hunt big-game, one suggesting that such spears could have been thrown or thrust at areas of

16182-407: The course of a lifetime. At 6–12 months, the second set of molars would erupt, with the first set worn out at 18 months of age. The third set of molars lasted for 10 years, and this process was repeated until the sixth set emerged at 30 years of age. When the last set of molars wore out, the animal would be unable to chew, and would die of starvation. Almost all vertebrae of the "Huntington mammoth",

16356-583: The crossing on Sea-Doos but were arrested and permitted to return to Alaska on their Sea-Doos after being briefly detained in Lavrentiya , the administrative center of the Chukotsky District . They were treated well and given a tour of the village's museum, but not permitted to continue south along the Pacific coast. The men had visas but the western coast of the Bering Strait is a closed military zone . Between August 4 and 10 (US time), 2013,

16530-451: The dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century. The Bering Strait is about 82 kilometers (51 mi) wide at its narrowest point, between Cape Dezhnev , Chukchi Peninsula , Russia , the easternmost point (169° 39' W) of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales , Alaska , United States,

16704-424: The earlier type, becoming M. meridionalis about 2.0–1.7 million years ago. In turn, this species was replaced by the steppe mammoth ( M. trogontherii ) with 18–20 ridges, which evolved in eastern Asia around 2.0–1.5 million years ago. The Columbian mammoth evolved from a population of M. trogontherii that had crossed the Bering Strait and entered North America about 1.5-1.3 million years ago; it retained

16878-459: The early 16th century, beginning in the mid-18th century, this period saw the advent of British and Russian fur traders, and the establishment of the California missions , followed by the independence of Mexico and the Central American countries. Much later in this period, the United States started on its path to become the dominant power on the west coast of North America. In the 1760s,

17052-451: The east coast of the Baja peninsula (San Bruno was abandoned as unsuccessful after two years). In 1697, the first "permanent" mission was established at Loreto , about 20 miles (32 km) away from San Bruno, also on the east coast of the peninsula. During this period (until 1750), some 16 missions were established on the peninsula—mostly on the east coast of the peninsula, with a handful on

17226-419: The evolutionary history of the genus is possible through morphological studies. Mammoth species can be identified from the number of enamel ridges (or lamellar plates ) on their molars; primitive species had few ridges, and the number increased gradually as new species evolved to feed on more abrasive food items. The crowns of the teeth became taller in height and the skulls became taller to accommodate this. At

17400-547: The expedition, Tomas de Suria and José Cardero , produced portraits of tribal members and scenes of Tlingit daily life. A glacier between Yakutat Bay and Icy Bay was subsequently named after Malaspina. The botanist Luis Née also accompanied the expedition, during which he collected and described numerous new plants. During the return to Mexico, Malaspina's expedition spent a month at the Spanish outpost in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island (see below). The expedition made

17574-461: The extinction of the mammoths cannot be explained in isolation. Scientists are divided over whether climate change, hunting, or a combination of the two, drove the extinction of the Columbian mammoths. According to the climate-change hypothesis, warmer weather led to the shrinking of suitable habitat for Columbian mammoths, which turned from parkland to forest, grassland, and semidesert, with less diverse vegetation. The "overkill hypothesis" attributes

17748-423: The extinction to hunting by humans, an idea first proposed by geoscientist Paul S. Martin in 1967; more recent research on this subject has varied in conclusions. A 2002 study concluded that the archeological record did not support the "overkill hypothesis", given that only 14 Clovis sites (12 with mammoth remains and two with mastodon remains) out of 76 examined provided strong evidence of hunting. In contrast,

17922-478: The females. The mammoths may have been lured to the hole by warm water or vegetation near the edges, slipping in and drowning or starving. Isotope studies of growth rings have shown that most of the mammoths died during spring and summer, which may have correlated with vegetation near the sinkhole. One individual, nicknamed "Murray", lies on its side, and probably died in this pose while struggling to get free. Deep footprints of mammoths attempting to free themselves from

18096-489: The finds represent hunting, scavenging dead mammoths, or are coincidental. A female mammoth at the Naco-Mammoth Kill Site in Arizona, found with eight Clovis points near its skull, shoulder blade, ribs, and other bones, is considered the most convincing evidence for hunting. In modern experiments, replica spears have been able to penetrate the rib cages of African elephants with reuse causing little damage to

18270-506: The first sustained arrival of people to the continent . Although there are other theories, most scientists believe that the first significant groups of people came from Asia , through today's Bering Strait area, then through modern Alaska, and from there spread throughout North America and to South America . Although the cultures on the west coast of today's Canada and United States are not known to have developed substantial urban centers and sophisticated writing or scientific systems, it

18444-838: The food resources necessary to sustain a population. Like modern elephants, Columbian mammoths were probably social and lived in matriarchal (female-led) family groups; most of their other social behavior was also similar to that of modern elephants. This is supported by fossil assemblages such as the Dent site in Colorado and the Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas , where groups consisting entirely of female and juvenile Columbian mammoths have been found (implying female-led family groups). The latter assemblage includes 22 skeletons, with 15 individuals representing

18618-491: The glowing reports of the Monterey area as an anchorage and as land suitable for settlement, as well as the detailed charts he made of the coastal waters (which were used for nearly 200 years); however no settlements in today's California were established for the next 150 years. In the late 17th century, Spain sent the first missionaries into today's Baja California , founding the first mission there in 1683 at San Bruno on

18792-458: The grants of the Pope (contained in the 1493 papal bull Inter caetera ) and rights contained in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas and 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza . These formal acts gave Spain the exclusive rights to colonize the entire Western Hemisphere (excluding eastern Brazil ), including all of the west coast of North America. The first European expedition to actually reach the west coast was led by

18966-491: The ground, primarily near their edges, and are similar to African rubbing rocks used by elephants and other herbivores to rid themselves of mud and parasites. Similar rocks exist in Hueco Tanks , Texas, and on Cornudas Mountain in New Mexico. Mathematical modelling indicates that Columbian mammoths would have had to have been periodically on the move to avoid starvation, as prolonged stays in one area would rapidly exhaust

19140-633: The hybridisation between the two lineages likely happening at least 420,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene , resulting in the Columbian mammoths of the Late Pleistocene having around 40-50% ancestry from the Krestovka lineage, and 50-60% related to woolly mammoths. Later woolly and Columbian mammoths also interbred occasionally, and mammoth species perhaps hybridized routinely when brought together by glacial expansion. The study also found that genetic adaptations to cold environments, such as hair growth and fat deposits, were already present in

19314-572: The international dateline); a four-man British expedition, Kayaks Across the Bering Strait ; and a team of Californians in a three-person baidarka , led by Jim Noyes (who launched his ambitious expedition as a paraplegic). Accompanying the Californians was a film crew in a umiak, a walrus-skin boat traditional to the region; they were filming the 1991 documentary Curtain of Ice , directed by John Armstrong. In March 2006, Briton Karl Bushby and French-American adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed

19488-465: The interruption of the first by bad weather. In February 2012, a Korean team led by Hong Sung-Taek crossed the straits on foot in six days. They started from Chukotka Peninsula, the east coast of Russia on February 23 and arrived in Wales, the western coastal town in Alaska on February 29. In July 2012, six adventurers associated with "Dangerous Waters", a reality adventure show under production, made

19662-402: The islands, but whether these were stages in the dwarfing process, or later arrivals of Columbian mammoths is unknown. A 2011 ancient DNA study of the complete mitochondrial genome (inherited through the female line) showed that two examined Columbian mammoths, including the morphologically typical "Huntington mammoth", were grouped within a subclade of woolly mammoths. This suggests that

19836-444: The jaws. About 23 cm (9.1 in) of the crown was within the jaw, and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) was above. The teeth had separated ridges (lamellae) of enamel , which were covered in "prisms" directed towards the chewing surface. Wear-resistant, they were held together with cementum and dentin . The crowns of the lower jaw were pushed forward and up as they wore down, comparable to a conveyor belt . The first molars were about

20010-1076: The killing of entire herds by Clovis hunters. However, isotope studies have shown that the accumulations represent individual deaths at different seasons of the year, so are not herds killed in single incidents. Many other such assemblages of bones with butcher marks may also represent accumulations over time, so are ambiguous as evidence for large-scale hunting. A 2021 article by the American paleontologist Metin I. Eren and colleagues suggested mammoths were not very susceptible to Clovis point weapons due to their thick skin, hair, muscles, ribs, and fat, which would have impeded most types of attacks humans could pull off at that time. Experiments wherein most spear points used to calculate their effectiveness against simulated mammoth skin shattered on impact rather than penetrating, suggested to these researchers that ancient humans probably preferred to scavenge mammoth carcasses for their meat and other resources and threw spears to drive other scavengers away from carcasses before butchering

20184-591: The land connection, and discovery of this Strait of Anián, were key elements in Spain's efforts to establish direct trade routes with China and other countries in Asia. See Early knowledge of the Pacific Northwest . The Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central America was not especially conducive to economic development during this era. The northern Mexican coast (including the Baja California Peninsula )

20358-458: The largest recorded in proboscideans, with some reaching over 4 m (13 ft) in length and 200 kg (440 lb) in weight, with some historical reports of tusks up to 4.88–5.1 m (16.0–16.7 ft) long and masses of around 230–250 kg (510–550 lb). Columbian mammoth tusks were usually not much larger than those of woolly mammoths, which reached 4.2 m (14 ft). The tusks of females were much smaller and thinner. About

20532-453: The line of the coast southwards, Cermeñon's ship became wrecked and was beached in Drake's Bay , north of San Francisco. Using salvaged and local materials, the crew constructed an open boat, and the ship's company of more than seventy persons continued the homeward voyage. This open vessel reached Acapulco in early 1596—a remarkable voyage of nearly twenty-five hundred miles in an open boat. With

20706-426: The living elephants and the mammoths. Among many now extinct clades, the mastodon ( Mammut ) is only a distant relative, and part of the distinct family Mammutidae , which diverged 25 million years before the mammoths evolved. The Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) is the closest extant relative of the mammoths. The following cladogram shows the placement of the Columbian mammoth among other elephantids, based on

20880-563: The loss of the San Agustin , exploration of the California coast by ships loaded with cargo from the Philippines came to an end. In 1602, the Basque captain Sebastián Vizcaíno , sailing for Spain, explored the coastline from Mexico as far north as Monterey Bay in today's California, where he went ashore. He ventured inland south along the coast, and recorded a visit to what is likely Carmel Bay . His major contributions were

21054-562: The mainland for thousands of years. The oldest dated human remains were found in the Los Angeles area. Partial remains of a skeleton referred to as Los Angeles Man were recovered from the ancient channel of the Los Angeles river in the Baldwin Hills area. The ‘Los Angeles Man’ appeared to be contemporaneous with the partially preserved remains of an Imperial mammoth . The remains were located some 370 meters apart; they revealed

21228-460: The mainland, evolved to be less than half the size of the mainland Columbian mammoths. They are, therefore, considered to be the distinct species M. exilis , the pygmy mammoth (or a subspecies, M. c. exilis ). These mammoths presumably reached the islands by swimming there when sea levels were lower, and decreased in size due to the limited food provided by the islands' small areas. Bones of larger specimens have also been found on

21402-653: The most recent Columbian mammoth remains have been dated around 10,900 years ago, although the date is uncalibrated and therefore is actually older in age. This extinction formed part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions of North America, which coincided with both Clovis culture and the Younger Dryas. Scientists do not know whether these extinctions happened abruptly or were drawn out. During this period, 40 mammal species disappeared from North America, almost all of which weighed over 40 kg (88 lb);

21576-490: The mountains were without snow, and that there were many indications of rivers, bays, and havens along the coast. In 1594, Captain Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho , a Portuguese sailor in the service of Spain, sailed from the Philippines in the San Agustin with orders similar to those of Gali. In this attempt, he reached land between Point St. George and Trinidad Head on November 4, 1595. Following

21750-485: The name California to this part of the west coast of North America is attributed by some to Bolaños, however others insist that the name first appears in work written by Alarcón. The governor of Guatemala also determined to build a Pacific fleet on the west coast of Guatemala, for use in an attempt to cross the Pacific to Asia. Ferdinand Magellan , the Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, had shown in 1521 that

21924-488: The only species of mammoth endemic to the Americas (as other species lived both there and in Eurasia). The idea that species such as M. imperator (the imperial mammoth) and M. jeffersoni (Jefferson's mammoth) were either more primitive or advanced stages in Columbian mammoth evolution was largely dismissed, and they were regarded as synonyms. In spite of these conclusions, Agenbroad cautioned that American mammoth taxonomy

22098-424: The opening that functions as the birth canal is always wider in females than in males. Like other mammoths, the Columbian mammoth had a high, single-domed head and a sloping back with a high shoulder hump; this shape resulted from the spinous processes (protrusions) of the back vertebrae decreasing in length from front to rear. Juveniles, though, had convex backs like Asian elephants. Other skeletal features include

22272-644: The pelvis and ribs of the "Huntington mammoth" when it was excavated in Utah. Microscopy showed that these chewed remains consisted of sedges , grasses, fir twigs and needles, oak , and maple . A large amount of mammoth dung has been found in two caves in Utah. The dry conditions and stable temperature of Bechan Cave ( bechan is Navajo for "large faeces") has preserved 16,000- to 13,500-year-old elephant dung, most likely from Columbian mammoths. The dung consists of 95% grasses and sedges, and varies from 0 to 25% woody plants between dung boluses , including saltbush , sagebrush , water birch , and blue spruce . This

22446-444: The pits, 40,000 to 11,500 years ago. Dust and leaves likely concealed the liquid asphalt, which then trapped unwary animals. Mired animals died from hunger or exhaustion; their corpses attracted predators, which sometimes became stuck, themselves. The fossil record of the tar pits is dominated by the remains of predators, such as large canids and felids . Fossils of different animals are found stuck together when they are excavated from

22620-538: The pits. The tar pits do not preserve soft tissue, and a 2014 study concluded that asphalt may degrade the DNA of animals mired in it after an attempt was made to extract DNA from a Columbian mammoth. A site in an airport construction area in Mexico nicknamed " mammoth central " is believed to have been the boggy shores of an ancient lake bed where animals were trapped 10,0000 to 20,000 years ago. Human tools have been found at

22794-536: The points. Other sites show more circumstantial evidence of mammoth hunting, such as piled bones bearing butcher marks. Some of these sites are not closely associated with Clovis points. The Dent site (the first evidence of mammoth hunting in North America, discovered in 1932) and the Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site , where multiple juvenile and adult mammoths have been found with butcher marks and in association with Clovis points, were once interpreted as

22968-443: The port at Acapulco already existed. It has been speculated that the reasons San Blas was chosen included that it was a week's sailing closer than Acapulco to the intended destination sites in California, that it was not far from the capital of New Spain, and perhaps more importantly, it had ready access to tropical hardwoods that would be needed to build the ships for the strenuous voyages as far north as today's Alaska. San Blas built

23142-499: The primary port of the Spanish Empire on the west coast of North America, and was used as a base for exploratory expeditions north and trade routes with the Far East. From 1533–1535, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés personally sponsored and financed exploratory sailing voyages north from Acapulco, in a search for legendary riches reported to be in the site of today's California. In the third of these voyages, Cortés accompanied

23316-655: The remainder of the tusk, each major line represents a year, with weekly and daily lines found in between. Dark bands correspond to summer, making determining the season in which a mammoth died possible. Tusk growth slowed when foraging became more difficult, such as during illness or when a male mammoth was banished from the herd (male elephants live with their herds until about the age of 10). Mammoths continued growing during adulthood, as do other elephants. Males grew until age 40, and females until age 25. Mammoths may have had gestation periods of 21–22 months, like those of modern elephants. Columbian mammoths had six sets of molars in

23490-615: The result of individuals dying near or in rivers over thousands of years and their bones being accumulated by the water (such as in the Aucilla River in Florida), or animals dying after becoming mired in mud. Some accumulations are thought to be the remains of herds that died at the same time, perhaps due to flooding. Columbian mammoths are occasionally preserved in volcanic deposits such as those in Tocuila , Texcoco , Mexico, where

23664-463: The result of natural processes. Paleoindians of the Clovis culture , which arose roughly 13,000 years ago may have been the first humans to hunt mammoths extensively. These people are thought to have hunted Columbian mammoths with Clovis pointed spears which were thrown or thrust. Although Clovis points have been found with Columbian mammoth remains at several sites, archeologists disagree about whether

23838-417: The return voyage from the Philippines, via Macao , was directed to sail as far north as the weather would permit, and then east, and upon reaching the coast of California to make maps on his journey south. However, Gali accomplished only limited chart-making. He reached the California coast at latitude 37° 30' ( Pillar Point —just south of today's San Francisco ), and noted that the land was high and fair; that

24012-557: The same geographic location show major differences in dental mesowear, indicating extensive variation in dietary habits between different individuals within the same population. Evidence from Florida reveals that Columbian mammoths typically preferred C 4 grasses, but that they would alter their dietary habits and consume greater proportions of non-traditional foods during periods of significant environmental change. Stomach contents from Columbian mammoths are rare, since no carcasses have been found, but plant remains were discovered between

24186-875: The same time, the skulls became shorter from front to back to reduce the weight of the head. The short, tall skulls of woolly and Columbian mammoths are the culmination of this process. The first known members of the genus Mammuthus are the African species M. subplanifrons from the Pliocene , and M. africanavus from the Pleistocene . The former is thought to be the ancestor of later forms. Mammoths entered Europe around 3 million years ago. The earliest European mammoth has been named M. rumanus ; it spread across Europe and China. Only its molars are known, which show that it had 8–10 enamel ridges. A population evolved 12–14 ridges, splitting off from and replacing

24360-521: The sample, obtained from cranial bone collagen, was too small to produce a confident date. Along the middle reaches of Marsh Creek near the modern day city of Brentwood lies land that was once occupied by the Bay Miwok speaking peoples more specifically the Volvon tribelet. Radiocarbon dates at the burial site estimate that the individuals were interred around 5,000 to 3,000 BP. In the earliest periods of

24534-414: The ships and was the home port for these exploration and supply voyages beginning in 1769 and continuing to 1820. It was not until 1769 that the first missions were established in today's California (then called Las Californias ), including the first mission , at San Diego in 1769, the mission at Monterey in 1770, and the mission at San Francisco in 1776. These missions eventually stretched from

24708-751: The shoulders and 9.2–12.5 t (9.1–12.3 long tons; 10.1–13.8 short tons) in weight, the Columbian mammoth was one of the largest species of mammoth, larger than the woolly mammoth and the African bush elephant . It had long, curved tusks and four molars at a time, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual. It most likely used its tusks and trunk like modern elephants —for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging. Bones, hair, dung, and stomach contents have been discovered, but no preserved carcasses are known. The Columbian mammoth preferred open areas, such as parkland landscapes, and fed on sedges , grasses, and other plants. It did not live in

24882-534: The sinkhole's mud can be seen in vertically excavated sections of the site. Since the early 20th century, excavations at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have yielded 100 t (220,000 lb) of fossils from 600 species of flora and fauna, including several Columbian mammoths. Many of the fossils are the remains of animals that became stuck in asphalt puddles that seeped to the surface of

25056-481: The site. It remains unclear whether the 200 Columbian mammoths found there died of natural causes and were then carved by humans. Some have hypothesized that humans drove the Columbian mammoths into the area to kill them. The site is only 12 miles (19 km) from artificial pits which were once used by humans to trap and kill large mammals. An adult Columbian mammoth would have needed more than 180 kg (400 lb) of food per day, and may have foraged for 20 hours

25230-475: The sites of today's Cordova, Alaska and Valdez, Alaska, where acts of sovereignty were performed. Fidalgo went as far as today's Kodiak Island , visiting the small Russian settlement there. Fidalgo then went to the Russian settlement at Alexandrovsk (today's English Bay or Nanwalek, Alaska ), southwest of today's Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula , where again, Fidalgo re-asserted the Spanish claim to

25404-435: The size of those of a human, 1.3 cm (0.51 in); the third ones were 15 cm (5.9 in) long, and the sixth ones were about 30 cm (12 in) long and weighed 1.8 kg (4.0 lb). With each replacement, the molars grew larger and gained more ridges; the number of plates varied between individuals. There was typically 18-21 ridges on each third molar, similar to those of M. trogontherii , but less than

25578-520: The southern tip of the Baja California peninsula to Sonoma, California , north of San Francisco. The purpose of the missions, which typically had an accompanying pueblo (town) and presidio (military outpost), was to solidify the 250-year-old Spanish claim to the region. This need became more urgent as the Russians and British were establishing fur trading posts on the far northern part of

25752-402: The species becoming extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinction event , simultaneously with most other large ( megafaunal ) mammals present in the Americas. It is one of the last recorded North American megafauna to have gone extinct. The extinction of the Columbian mammoth and other American megafauna was most likely a result of habitat loss caused by climate change , hunting by humans, or

25926-438: The steppe mammoth lineage, and was not unique to woolly mammoths. This research has raised questions about which material the name Mammuthus columbi should be applied to, as there is no obvious difference in tooth morphology between Early Pleistocene presumably pre-hybridisation North American mammoths and later Pleistocene M. columbi . In a 2024 review, Adrian Lister and Love Dalén argued that M. columbi should be retained in

26100-533: The strait by 1847. In March 1913, Captain Max Gottschalk (German) crossed from the east cape of Siberia to Shishmaref, Alaska , on dogsled via Little and Big Diomede islands. He was the first documented modern voyager to cross from Russia to North America without the use of a boat. In 1987, swimmer Lynne Cox swam a 4.3-kilometer (2.7 mi) course between the Diomede Islands from Alaska to

26274-415: The strait on foot, walking across a frozen 90-kilometer (56 mi) section in 15 days. They were soon arrested for not entering Russia through a regular port of entry. August 2008 marked the first crossing of the Bering Strait using an amphibious road-going vehicle. The specially modified Land Rover Defender 110 was driven by Steve Burgess and Dan Evans across the straits on its second attempt following

26448-430: The strait, even those with visas, may be arrested, imprisoned briefly, fined, deported and banned from future visas. Imperial mammoth The Columbian mammoth ( Mammuthus columbi ) is an extinct species of mammoth that inhabited North America from southern Canada to Costa Rica during the Pleistocene epoch. The Columbian mammoth descended from Eurasian steppe mammoths that colonised North America during

26622-472: The teeth from Stono, which he used to support his theory of catastrophism . The Columbian mammoth was first scientifically described in 1857 by the Scottish naturalist Hugh Falconer , who named the species Elephas columbi after the explorer Christopher Columbus . The animal was brought to Falconer's attention in 1846 by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell , who sent him molar fragments found during

26796-479: The torso that were not protected by ribs, with the wounds not killing the mammoths instantly, but the hunters could follow their prey until it had bled to death. Petroglyphs in the Colorado Plateau have been interpreted as depictions of either Columbian mammoths or mastodons. A bone fragment from Vero Beach , Florida, estimated to be 13,000-years old and possibly the earliest known example of art in

26970-478: The tusks were used to dig up plants and strip bark from trees. Digging is indicated on preserved tusks by flat, polished sections of the surface that would have reached the ground. Isotope studies of Columbian mammoths from Mexico and the United States have shown that their diet varied by location, consisting of a mix of C3 (most plants) and C4 plants (such as grasses), and they were not restricted to grazing or browsing . Even individual Columbian mammoths from

27144-416: The two populations interbred and produced fertile offspring. One possible explanation is introgression of a haplogroup from woolly to Columbian mammoths, or vice versa. A similar situation has been documented in modern species of African elephant ( Loxodonta ), the African bush elephant ( L. africana ) and the African forest elephant ( L. cyclotis ). The authors of the study also suggest that

27318-665: The very early Capacha culture, which appeared on the Pacific coast of modern Mexico about 1450 BC and spread into the interior. The following cultures developed into "high civilizations" in Mesoamerica, with extensive urban areas, writing, astronomy and fine arts: Farther south, Panama was home to some of the earliest pottery-making, such as the Monagrillo culture dating to about 2500–1700 BC; this culture evolved into significant populations best known for spectacular burial sites (dating to c. 500–900 AD) and polychrome pottery of

27492-539: The voyage, and likely reached the site of today's La Paz on the Baja California peninsula. In 1539, another voyage financed and sponsored by Cortés, and led by Francisco de Ulloa , embarked on an expedition in three small vessels, sailing north from Acapulco to explore the Pacific Coast, and to seek the Strait of Anián. The expedition sailed northwards along the west coast of the Mexican mainland, and reached

27666-741: The west coast of North America, mapping the coast from California all the way to the Bering Strait. The northern stretch of the west coast of North America was claimed by the British , but the region was not occupied by any British subject until 1788, when John Meares first small trading post in Nootka Sound in today's British Columbia. His post was torn down at the end of 1788, although he claimed otherwise. Spain established its own competing fortified trading post at Nootka Sound ( Santa Cruz de Nutka , maintained between 1789 and 1795) on Vancouver Island , in today's British Columbia, and sought forcibly to remove British traders by seizing their ships, triggering

27840-466: The west coast of North America, on the Pacific coast of the Panama isthmus. From the point of view of European powers in the age of sailing ships , the west coast of North America was among the most distant places in the world. The arduous journey around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and then north meant nine to twelve months of dangerous sailing. These practical difficulties discouraged all but

28014-494: The west coast of North America. In addition, there continued the long-standing interest in creating a safe anchorage for seaworn Manila Galleons on their return to Acapulco . Explorers and fur trappers from the Russian Empire (beginning with Semyon Dezhnev expedition of 1630) arrived on the Pacific coast of today's Alaska, and after establishing settlements there (beginning in 1784), expanded hunting and trading down

28188-567: The west coast of North America. In the early 19th century, fur trappers of the Russian Empire explored the west coast of North America, hunting for sea otter pelts as far south as San Diego. In 1812, the Russian-American Company set up a fortified trading post at Fort Ross , located north of present-day Bodega Bay some sixty miles north of San Francisco , with the never-materialized hope of using that area to develop

28362-484: The west coast of today's United States, leading the expedition that landed at San Diego Bay , and continued north along the coast up to Punta del Año Nuevo, 37° 10' north of Monterrey . But Cabrillo died on January 3, 1543, and the remainder of the exploration was led by Bartolomé Ferrer , who sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River in today's western coast of Oregon. Importantly beginning in 1565, Acapulco

28536-742: The westernmost point (168° 05' W) of the North American continent . Its deepest point is only 90 m (300 ft) in depth. It borders the Chukchi Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean ) to the north and the Bering Sea to the south. The strait is a unique habitat sparsely populated by the Yupik , Inuit , and Chukchi people who have cultural and linguistic ties to each other. From at least 1562, European geographers thought that there

28710-416: Was a Strait of Anián between Asia and North America. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov probably passed through the strait, but his report did not reach Europe. Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering entered it in 1728. In 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev crossed it for the first time, from Asia to America. It was visited in 1778 by the third voyage of James Cook . American vessels were hunting for bowhead whales in

28884-440: Was a home of the vital Manila Galleons . The Manila Galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish possession of the Philippines , laden with silver and gemstones from Mexico. There, the wealth was used to purchase Asian trade goods such as spices , silk , and porcelain . These goods were then carried across the Pacific by the Manila Galleons to Acapulco; from there, the goods were transshipped across Mexico, for delivery to

29058-421: Was about the same size or somewhat smaller than the earlier mammoth species M. meridionalis and M. trogontherii , but was larger than the modern African bush elephant and the woolly mammoth, both of which reached about 2.67 to 3.49 m (8 ft 9 in to 11 ft 5 in) at the shoulder. Males were generally larger and more robust. The best indication of sex is the size of the pelvic girdle, since

29232-485: Was discovered in 1960 at Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island (California) . The remains were dated to 13,000 years BP . The Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California , Mexico , had a human presence already about 11,000 years ago. The earliest fishhooks in the Americas were found here, dating to that time. These ancient fisher folk were catching deepwater fish species, indicating that they were using boats. These island peoples maintained trading connections with

29406-445: Was generally too dry for substantial agriculture or ranching that would support settlements. South of the deserts, the jungles of the Pacific Coast in Mexico and Central America, and the tropical diseases found there, were major obstacles to large-scale development. Notable exceptions were the development of important Spanish ports at Puerto de Navidad and Acapulco in today's Mexico. While Navidad faded in importance, Acapulco became

29580-466: Was in modest sailing distance of Asia to the west, or the two might actually physically connect. To the north was imagined a narrow Northwest Passage , known as the Strait of Anián , which some believed reached the Pacific Ocean at 42° north latitude (the latitude of today's border between Oregon and California) and connected to the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence . Confirmation of

29754-484: Was more appropriate for the species, Falconer rejected the name; he also suggested that E. imperator and E. jacksoni , two other American elephants described from molars, were based on remains too fragmentary to classify properly. More complete material that may be from the same quarry as Falconer's fragmentary holotype molar (which is cataloged as specimen BMNH 40769 at the British Museum of Natural History )

29928-815: Was reported in 2012, and could help shed more light on that specimen, since doubts about its adequacy as a holotype have been raised. In the early 20th century, the taxonomy of extinct elephants became increasingly complicated. In 1942, the American paleontologist Henry F. Osborn 's posthumous monograph on the Proboscidea was published, wherein he used various generic and subgeneric names that had previously been proposed for extinct elephant species, such as Archidiskodon , Metarchidiskodon , Parelephas , and Mammonteus . Osborn also retained names for many regional and intermediate subspecies or "varieties", and created recombinations such as Parelephas columbi felicis and Archidiskodon imperator maibeni . The taxonomic situation

30102-499: Was simplified by various researchers from the 1970s onwards; all species of mammoth were retained in the genus Mammuthus , and many proposed differences between species were instead interpreted as intraspecific variation. In 2003, the American paleontologist Larry Agenbroad reviewed opinions about North American mammoth taxonomy, and concluded that several species had been declared junior synonyms , and that M. columbi (the Columbian mammoth) and M. exilis (the pygmy mammoth) were

30276-517: Was the one followed by the galleons of Spain sailing from Manila to Acapulco. This return voyage across the Pacific could take up to seven months. A harbor on the coast of California where ships could find shelter and repair damage was greatly desired. A survey of the unknown northern Pacific coast of North America was ordered, and it was also suggested that the explorations be extended north of 42° north latitude. In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, on

#431568