mammoths
Prehistoric shaggy elephants
Mammoths were large, hairy elephants that roamed cold regions during the Ice Age, now extinct for thousands of years.
The word commonly appears figuratively to describe anything enormous or unwieldy: a mammoth undertaking, a mammoth corporation.
As an adjective, mammoth means huge: The project required mammoth effort.
Tusk-derived material
- curvedSmoothly bent, not angular
- elongatedStretched beyond usual dimensions
- spiralingCurving in widening circles
- massiveExtremely large and heavy
incisors · foraging · display · dominance · combat · trade · carved · artifact
Extremely large in scale
- colossalExtremely large in scale
- massiveExtremely large and heavy
- toweringOf imposing height
- giantBeing of huge size
immense · huge · hulking · gargantuan · behemoth · megafauna · weight · tons
Slow-moving ice mass
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- steppeTreeless Eurasian grassland
- woollyCovered in soft fibers
tundra · cold-adapted · Neanderthal · paleoecology · migration · grassland · interglacial · Beringia
Complete vanishing of a species
- vanishedDisappeared from sight
- disappearedCeased to exist visibly
- lostUnable to navigate
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
Pleistocene · Holocene · overhunting · die-off · remnant · survival · decline · dwindling
Study of ancient organisms
- excavationAct of unearthing
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- preservedKept from deterioration
- frozenSolidified by extreme cold
dig · sediment · bones · skeleton · mummified · specimens · remains · discovery
Reviving vanished organisms
- cloningMaking identical copies
- DNAHereditary code molecule
- genomeOrganism's total hereditary material
- surrogateOne acting for another
CRISPR · sequencing · ethics · rewilding · resurrection · biotechnology
Earliest archaeological era
- cave-paintingsAncient images on cavern walls
- LascauxPaleolithic painted cavern
- hunter-gatherersSubsistence through wild resources
- ClovisFirst Merovingian ruler
hunting · hominids · subsistence · stone-age · petroglyphs
ivory
Tusk-derived material
- curvedSmoothly bent, not angular
- elongatedStretched beyond usual dimensions
- spiralingCurving in widening circles
massive · incisors · foraging · display · dominance · combat · trade · carved · artifact · tools
enormous
Extremely large in scale
giant · immense · huge · hulking · gargantuan · behemoth · megafauna · weight · tons · bulk
glacier
Slow-moving ice mass
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- steppeTreeless Eurasian grassland
woolly · tundra · cold-adapted · Neanderthal · paleoecology · migration · grassland · interglacial · Beringia · snow
extinction
Complete vanishing of a species
- vanishedDisappeared from sight
- disappearedCeased to exist visibly
- lostUnable to navigate
megafauna · Pleistocene · Holocene · overhunting · die-off · remnant · survival · decline · dwindling
paleontology
Study of ancient organisms
- excavationAct of unearthing
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- preservedKept from deterioration
frozen · dig · sediment · bones · skeleton · mummified · specimens · remains · discovery · museum
de-extinction
Reviving vanished organisms
surrogate · CRISPR · sequencing · ethics · rewilding · resurrection · biotechnology
Paleolithic
Earliest archaeological era
- cave-paintingsAncient images on cavern walls
- LascauxPaleolithic painted cavern
- hunter-gatherersSubsistence through wild resources
Clovis · hunting · hominids · subsistence · stone-age · petroglyphs
- extinct creaturesdinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs
- prehistoric lifedinosaur, dinosaurs, triceratops, Velociraptor, velociraptor
- Ice Ageice age, saber-tooth cat, Pleistocene, ice ages, woolly rhino
- prehistorystone tools, Neolithic, Stone Age, caveman, cavemen
- Extinct Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus, dodo, triceratops
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- woolly mammothsExtinct hairy elephants
- wooly mammothsExtinct furry elephant relatives
- mammoth tuskExtinct pachyderm's elongated tooth
- Mammoth CaveKentucky's vast underground network
- mammoth huntersPrehistoric big-game trackers
- mammoth bonesSkeletal remains of extinct elephants