[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
History See other History Articles Title: West Runton mammoth helps to unlock Britain’s ancient past One of Norfolk’s most famous old residents is giving a helping hand to unlock Britain’s past - 600,000 years after breathing its last. Experts have extracted protein from the remains of the West Runton mammoth, found in cliffs in the county in 1990, paving the way for ancient fossils to be identified. The cutting-edge procedure means palaeontologists will be able to name and date species from even the tiniest bone fragments. The breakthrough is the latest twist in a 20-year tale, which began on December 13 1990, when Harold and Margaret Hems found a large bone protruding from the bottom of cliffs at West Runton, near Sheringham. It was identified as a pelvic bone of a large elephant. A year later several more huge bones were found, and in 1995 a three-month excavation found 85pc of the beast’s skeleton - making it the most complete example of its species ever found in the world. Most of the fossils are currently kept in storage at Norwich Castle Museum, but researchers from the University of York and Manchester gained access to samples to extract protein from the bones. The bio-archaeologists were able to produce a near complete collagen sequence for the elephant. Bio-archaeologist Prof Matthew Collins, from the University of York’s department of archaeology, said: “Until several years ago we did not believe we would find any collagen in a skeleton of this age, even if it was as well-preserved as the West Runton elephant. “The implications are that we can use collagen sequencing to look at very old extinct animals. It also means we can look through old sites and identify remains from tiny fragments of bone.” The collagen sequencing was carried out at the Centre for Excellence in Mass Spectrometry at the University of York and is arguably the oldest protein ever sequenced. Nigel Larkin, co-author and research associate with Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, said: “At the time this animal was alive, before the Ice Ages, spotted hyenas much larger than those in Africa today were scavenging most carcases and devouring the bones as well as meat. “That means most fossils found from this time period are individual bones or fragments of bone, making them difficult to identify. In the future, collagen sequencing might help us to determine the species represented by even smallest scraps of bone.” “Therefore this research has important implications for bones and bone fragments in all archaeological and palaeontological collections.”
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||