An examination of a strand of 30,000 and 70,000 year old mammoth hair

• Published in: Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
• Main Authors: Hammond, Ernest C., Jones, Curṫis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
• Subjects: General Medicine; Yakutia; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0424820100130134; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0424820100130134

The Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory has received two strands of hair from a Mammoth. These strands were obtained from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. One 70,000 year old strand from North Yakutia which was a part of the former USSR, is a clear smooth yellowish strand. While, the other strand which is approximately 30,000 years old, under the Electron microscope seems to have a rough surface. This strand is from Muck, Alaska. The 70,000 year old strand from USSR has unusual scratches, but in comparison with human hair of today it seems to display some of the tree bark growth phenomenon observed in human hair. The 30,000 year old strand of hair seem to have unusual rocky structures attached to shaft with large pits and channels. X ray analysis of the 70,000 year old Russian strand seem to indicate large deposits of calcium, iron, copper, and sulfur. Further, the 30,000 year old strand shows copper, iron, calcium and potassium with large quantities of silicon and fluorine.