Ice Age Humans Preferentially Hunted Female Woolly Mammoths, DNA Study Shows

A new genetic analysis of 521 woolly mammoth remains from sites across Eurasia and North America reveals that Ice Age hunters disproportionately targeted female individuals. In archaeological bone accumulations linked to human activity, about 70% of the specimens were female, whereas natural death sites are dominated by males (approximately two‑thirds). The research was conducted by the Centre for Palaeogenetics, a joint effort of Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and led by co‑senior authors Hannah Moots and David Díez del Molino. The authors suggest that the preference may stem from the matriarchal herd structure of mammoths, which made female‑led groups more predictable and easier to locate, as well as the smaller size of females compared with males. The findings were published in the journal Current Biology and add a new dimension to understanding Upper Paleolithic hunting strategies.