On Wednesday, scientists discovered a rare and well-preserved mammoth skull in Santa Rosa Island, California. Reports disclosed that this could be a way of unveiling California's early history.
The US Geological Survey collected charcoal samples adjacent to the skull and dated them to approximately 13,000 years, which coincided with the time of the Arlington Man - the oldest human skeletal remains found in North America.
The team of scientists reportedly found the fossil remains within the Channel Islands National Park.
Justin Wilkins, Mammoth Site paleontologist, said in a statement, "This mammoth find is extremely rare and of high scientific importance. It appears to have been on the Channel Islands at the nearly same time as humans. I have seen a lot of mammoth skulls and this is one of the best preserved I have ever seen."
Scientists stated that the skull is not big enough to qualify as a Columbian mammoth and not small enough to be a pygmy.
According to the National Park Service, which manages the islands, the pygmy mammoths that were four to six feet tall used to roam around the island's grass lands and forests during the Pleistocene era.
Monica Bugbee, a preparator and member of the team who found the remains, said, "This skull discovery opens the possibility that this mammoth was intermediate in size between the two species. It could represent a transitional animal, somewhere on the way to becoming a completely dwarfed pygmy mammoth."
Columbian mammoths appeared in North America about 1.5 million years ago and some of them migrated to the Channel Islands during the past two ice ages, during which sea levels were lower and the islands were close to the mainland. Over a period of the time, their descendants downsized from 14 feet in height to six feet, becoming the shorter pygmy mammoths.
Researchers believe that the mammoth's fossilized teeth could reveal if it's a Columbian or pygmy mammoth, or a transitional species.
The dig team of scientists, who found the mammoth skull, consisted of National Park Service archaeologist Don Morris, the Mammoth Site paleontologist Justin Wilkins and preparator Monica Bugbee.
