Earth's permafrosts continue to melt in a rapid pace due to the unusual heat. Because of this, archaeologists and scientists are finding amazing and incredible things from the ancient past.
Ancient wolf head
A massive wolf head was discovered by a local man back in 2018 as he was strolling along the shores of the Tirekhtyakh River in the Russian Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia.
The wolf head was in amazingly great condition and the scientists stated that it was around 40,000 years since it was buried in Siberian wilderness.
The scientists measured the head and reported that it was around 40 centimetres in length, or around 16 inches. This discovery makes it different from any wolf specimen that scientists have studied decades ago.
Palaeontologist Albert Protopopov from the Republic of Sakha Academy of Sciences told The Siberian Times back in 2019 that the discovery is unique and it is the first ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf with its tissue preserved.
Protopopov said that the scientists will be comparing the newly discovered head to the modern wolves so that they can study and understand how the animal has evolved through the centuries and they will be reconstructing its appearance.
Aside from the wolf head, scientists also discovered numerous ancient lion cubs that lives in caves centuries ago. They discovered the cubs back in 2015 and in the same region again in 2017. It cubs were also well-preserved as it had fangs, fur, brain tissues and skin tissues, all still intact.
Protopopov, along with scientists from Japan and Sweden, studied the massive head and they believed that it was from an adult wolf that was two to four years old. The work of the scientists included analyzing the wolf's DNA and they used tomographic techniques so that they can study and see the skull of the wolf.
According to Protopopov, it is not uncommon to find wolf skulls in Siberian permafrost, but they are rarely on the same level as the newly discovered, massive ancient wolf.
Protopopov told Russia's Interfax news agency that several puppies have already been found and the uniqueness of this discovery is that they found the head of an adult wolf with preserved brain and soft tissues.
Aside from the wolf head, scientists are also studying the lion cubs that they discovered, and they believe it is a female. The scientists believe that the cub may have died after being born and became preserved in ice.
The cub is named Spartak, and amazingly it is also in perfect state. Because of this, scientists is given the chance to study and learn more about these ancient discoveries.
Palaeontologist Naoki Suzuki from the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo told The Asahi Shimbun that the muscles, organs and brains of the lion cubs are in great state. He also stated that they want to study the physical capabilities and ecology by comparing the ancient discovery with the present lions and wolves.
Other ancient finds
In 2019, scientists discovered a set of teeth that is believed to belong to children who lives 31,000 years ago. The scientists found the teeth in Siberia and it has led them to discover the unknown population of ancient people. According to the study published in Nature, the ancient humans lives in northeaster Siberia during Ice Age.
