Woolly Mammoth - It's What's For Dinner

Scientists have found evidence that some of Alaska's first immigrants many have slaughtered and butchered a woolly mammoth.

Picture: Albert Protopopov

The 21-thousand-year-old-remains were found on Kotelny Island - which is believed to be part of the Beringia land bridge which connected Alaska with Siberia.

Scientists say no other mammoth previously found in the world had such clear signs of being hunted by humans.  They found cuts all over its ribs - as well as traces of spear strikes with stone spear tips embedded in the beast.

Physical evidence suggests ancient men severed the trunk, removed the brain, harvested the meat, and pulled bone marrow from all the ice age beast's limbs.

The Siberian Times reported that Russian scientist Doctor Protopopov believes the discovery adds more information about the human migration from Siberia to Alaska. Woolly Mammoths are believed to have died off about 4,000 years ago due to climate change and human hunting. 

Studying the discovery is a multi-national effort, according to Protopopov. Swedish researchers will conduct genetic molecular research while American experts will focus on the mitochondrial DNA this year. The Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo dated the extinct mammoth remains at 21,000 years using radiocarbon analysis.

Last spring, cells from another Siberia mammoth were reported to demonstrate "signs of biological activity" after they were implanted in mouse cells, according to Scientific Reports.  Despite the high controversy that surrounds efforts to bring prehistoric animals like the Woolly Mammoth back to live, Harvard University has assembled a Woolly Mammoth Revival team. This effort hopes to introduce mammoth genes into the Asian elephant population for conservation purposes.

Juneau Report: Museum 911

Earthquakes, tidal waves, floods, and volcanos. It’s not a matter of if but when disaster will strike.  New resources are coming available to make sure all isn't lost when a community is turned upside down. Emergency managers, first responders, staff, and volunteers need to work together in a coordinated effort to save our libraries, museums, and archives during natural disasters.  

Alaska State Museum Curator of Statewide Services Anjuli Grantham is organizing the Preparing Alaska’s Cultural Organizations For Emergencies project.

Anjuli Grantham/ASM

Anjuli Grantham says, “If you don’t have a plan in place disaster strikes and suddenly you have your family photos are even valuable artifacts in a museum that are just disheveled.  If you don’t have a plan in place, that is when panic sets in.”

The Project is looking to build awareness, best practices, and skillsets in people working in cultural institutions across Alaska - so when the worst does happen, people are prepared to administer the best possible result.  

Paper and photographs can become the victim of water damage not just from floods and broken pipes. The loss of more than 20-million artifacts at Brazil’s National Museum and the high profile fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame highlight the damage that can be caused not just the fire itself - but firefighting activities and smoke.

Still, preservationists have some trick up their sleeves for saving what appears to be unsalvageable.

Anjuli Grantham says, “Don’t just immediately start throwing things away. Because it may look as if your family photos are a big pile of mud, however, there are people who are skilled in repairing these things." Grantham suggests freezing water soaked photos and paper to stop further damage, then locating a specialist to freeze-dry the treasures to safely remove the water.

The first training is scheduled this fall for Juneau, with classes in Anchorage and Fairbanks following.

Juneau Report: Juneau Goes Main Street

Large sections of Juneau's downtown core look more like a ghost town than a thriving state capitol.
Tourism businesses close in the off-season - leaving entire blocks of empty storefront windows and no trespassing signs behind.

The City and Borough of Juneau is the first in the state to embrace the Main Street Movement - a preservation-based economic development and community revitalization effort that focuses on transforming downtowns.

CBJ Planner Allison Eddins

CBJ Planner Allison Eddins says, “The City is hoping that we can coordinate all our efforts and coordinate some of the strategies that we are using to attack some of the challenges we have downtown - mainly housing and homelessness, historic preservation, and restoration of some of these older beautiful buildings that we have downtown that are in need of some facade work.”

Main Street is a road map for locally-owned - locally-driven prosperity created by leveraging local leadership - transforming the economy and improving the overall quality of life

Transformation catalyst strategies focus on particular customer segments like the elderly or young families. They also respond to underserved market demand in an industry - product or service segment.

Main Street points include economic vitality - which offers capital, incentives,  and other economic and financial tools to assist local businesses, encourage property development and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Main Street also uses design to enhance the physical and visual assets that set the district apart by organizing resources and community involvement as well as cultivating partnerships downtown.